Amidst the Starry Night
by Z98
Summary: The tyranny of light is ended and darkness blankets all creation. Cast adrift without her companions, Kairi stands as the last guardian of light. Now she must learn that even in the darkest night, a single spark is all that is needed to ignite light anew. From that light, she will rally new allies to retake all the worlds from the darkness.
1. Prologue: In Darkness Cast

Prologue: In Darkness Cast

Her cheeks were dry, but it was not from lack of tears. Indeed, she had spent so long crying that all her tears had been emptied, leaving her eyes a pale red instead of their usual sapphire blue. For someone to see the difference however her eyes would need to be open. Right now however they were closed, hidden beyond not just lowered eyelids but the knees that she had curled up behind. Grief was a powerful thing, its hold of immense magnitude. But the depths of sorrow were called that because there was a bottom, and from that bottom the only way to go was up. Slowly, Kairi opened her eyes, gazing out the window at the black void beyond.

Where the Ocean Between was previously filled with the glow of gas and dust, now it was devoid of any light whatsoever. Little wonder that, seeing as the fragments that spawned such light came from the worlds that were no longer there. With no more worlds, there was no more light. No more anything. No more Riku, or Sora. Indeed the only lights now were the ones blinking on the controls of the gummi ship. Even if all that blinking did was tell her there was out there.

Slowly, Kairi unfolded her body, as much from the stiffness of her joints as pure simple exhaustion. There was certainly plenty of space in the chair for her, though that was little enough comfort considering whom used to occupy it. And the two seats behind, now that her thoughts were not so clouded in a gloomy fugue. Her mood was hardly improved by such clearness of mind however. But with that clarity, she now needed to make decisions instead of simply moping around. Reaching out, Kairi turned on the comms.

"Chip? Dale? Are you there?"

The screen in front of Kairi lit up, showing the two chipmunks deep within the bowels of the ship. Despite the hectic air about them, both came to an abrupt halt before the receiver.

"Kairi!" Chip called out. "Diddya need something!?"

The girl nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sorry for worrying you two so. I'm, a little better now."

"That's good to hear," Dale said. "Anything you need, you just gotta ask!"

That elicited a slight smile from Kairi. Despite everything that had happened, despite their own losses, the two gummi engineers were still determined to lend her a hand and try to keep her spirits up. The least she could do was set aside her own grief, enough to at least return the favor.

"Thank you Chip, Dale. I don't need, no, that's not true." Kairi took a deep breath. "I need your help." The grief on her face disappeared, to be replaced by steely determination. "I need to learn about this ship. How to pilot it, what it can do."

"No problemo," Chip declared. "We helped design it after all! We can answer any question you throw at us about how it works!"

Kairi nodded. "Okay then. How long does this ship have then? How much fuel, and food?"

"Ah well uh," Chip began.

"We've got enough fuel to last us awhile," Dale said, "specially if we're just floating out here. Food's another matter though. We've only got a week's worth, but there's none out here, so we need to go somewhere, and that's gonna take fuel. So, depending on how far we gotta go, uh, we might not be looking so good for fuel either."

"I see," Kairi said thoughtfully. "But, where could we even go to find more food?"

"Uh, well…"

"Hmm, that's a toughie…"

Indeed it was. None of the routes that the ship had traversed before existed anymore, as the worlds they previously connected to were no longer there. The question then was if there were any worlds left at all, along with how to get there. The darkness outside would suggest otherwise, but surely something must have survived. They were still here after all, surely they could not be the only ones left. Could they? Kairi shook her head. She could not let despair overtake her again, not when there was so much to do.

"Alright." She reached out for the console. "Walk me through how to use all this stuff."

There was a lot she needed to learn, and only so much time to do it all. She needed to be careful too, lest she do something that would drain the ship's limited amount of power. Fortunately Chip and Dale were good teachers, warning her of not what to do as much as they told her how to do the things she needed to do. This was not the first time she had used a computer, such things existed back home in the Destiny Islands after all, but Kairi could not claim to be the most technologically inclined person to start with. But perhaps, that was also a good thing now.

"So this is how the gummi ship plots its course?" Kairi asked.

"That's right!" Chip said. "But, none of that data works anymore. The worlds, they keep moving around, so they're never in the same place for very long."

"But every time they move, they also leave a little something behind," Dale put in. "If we go where they used to be, maybe we could find something we could use!"

Kairi considered the suggestion. That was the rationale thing to do, to tread upon the paths already taken. There was in theory less risk involved, and maybe, just maybe they would find something more than just fragments or remnants. But her instincts, her heart told her otherwise. They were here now because they had tried the safe path, the known path. If there was an answer to be found, it would not be anyplace they had looked before.

"This is the list of all the places this ship has gone before?" Kairi asked.

"Uh huh," Chip affirmed. "So we've got lots of places we could try!"

Were that what Kairi was going to do, that was very much true. As she looked down the list, Kairi could not help but wonder just how many people had lived on all of them. How many people Sora had met and whose lives he had touched. How many counted him as a friend, and he in turn. Kairi's fits tightened. How many lights which were now snuffed out because they had failed. Perhaps that was the real reason she did not want to try finding some fragment of them, so that reminders of the loss would not stain her heart more. Kairi took a long, deep breath. No, that was not the reason. Her heart was not as brittle as that. One day, she would go searching for those worlds, to reignite their hearts and give back these people their lives. But to do that, she needed more power. More knowledge. More, everything. And to start with, she needed fuel and food, to keep the gummi ship running and herself and the chipmunks fed.

"How," Kairi began. "How would we make a jump to someplace not on this list?"

"What's that?" Chip responded. "To someplace new? But, but, where would we even go?"

"I don't know," Kairi said. "But Sora, when he and the others first started traveling, he couldn't have known where all these worlds were. So how did he find them?"

"Well, it wasn't like we didn't know nothing about how to get to other worlds," Chip said. "There was always at least one world we could get to. But now there's, there's…"

Even the usually chipper chipmunk was feeling the strain of things, Kairi could tell. She offered a comforting smile, trying to bolster their spirits much as they were doing their best for her.

"Don't worry, we'll find something," she said. "But to do that I'll need all the help you two can give me, because we'll only be able to do this together."

"You can count on us!" Dale declared. "Right Chip!?"

"R-right!" Chip managed, then gave his entire body a good shake. "Right, we can do it!"

The smile widened ever so slightly. It would take more than mere belief and hope to see them through this, but without it they stood no chance at all.

"Okay, lemme think," Chip said. "Back before, we could just kinda fly around looking for the routes that link the worlds. Things traveling between them would carve a path. But, ain't gonna work now."

"How about giving the old keyblade a try?" Dale suggested.

"The keyblade?" Kairi said quizzically. "It can do that?"

"Well, we don't know that it can't," Dale responded.

That only caused Kairi's befuddlement to deepen. Despite her training, Kairi could not claim to have mastered the strange weapon's full suite of abilities. Indeed she was still little more than an amateur, able to swing the blade and hold her own, but it was painfully clear there was much more for her to learn. Now though, there was no one to learn from. If she were to ever master the keyblade, she would need to discover for herself what it was capable of. Holding out her hand, the floral form of Destiny's Embrace appeared in a flash of light.

"Can this really show us the way?" she wondered aloud.

And even if she could, how did she actually use it to do so? It was not as if she could just point the keyblade and expect a hole to appear. Could it? With nothing to lose, Kairi did just that, aiming the blade out the window before her.

"Open, the way?"

Nothing happened, not that she would have expected it to. After a few more moments of that nothing, Kairi lowered the blade.

"Well, it was worth a try," Dale managed.

"But it was just the first try!" Chip added. "There's lots more we can try too!"

"Yes, that's right," Kairi said, looking down at the keyblade. "This is a key, but it's only a key when there's something for it to unlock. So we just have to find the lock, don't we?"

As if responding to her words, a warm glow enveloped the keyblade. Kairi's eyes widened, and on the screen Chip and Dale began jumping in excitement.

"Oh boy, something's happening!"

"Hurry Kairi! Before it disappears!"

"R-right!" Kairi said, quickly raising the keyblade once more. "Open, the way!"

Again nothing seemed to happen, nothing obvious at least. Or at least nothing involving what Kairi was actually trying to do. Instead the light of her keyblade grew brighter and brighter, indeed the luminous blaze was such that Kairi was forced to close her own eyes. There was no sound accompanying the eruption of light, no heat or any other force either.

"Kairi!"

Despite her closed eyes, Kairi could still see light leaking through the edges of her eyelids. No, not just through the edges, it did not seem to even matter that whether she looked away or had her eyes open versus closed. The light was all-encompassing, piercing the darkness in totality.

"Something's happening to the engine! It's power levels are, they're through the roof! Or the hull! Or whatever!"

"We gotta burn some of it off! The ship can't take much more of this!"

"Kairi! Start the engine!"

Unable to see anything around her, Kairi reached out and through pure touch shoved the throttle to full. The gummi ship lurched forward, causing Kairi to tumble back into her seat. Cries sounded over the internal comms as Chip and Dale were similarly thrown off their feat, but Kairi was in no position to help them as she was pressed against the chair. Even so, somehow she kept her keyblade up, letting the light blossom forth ahead. If nothing else, something told her she needed to do that much. And that much she did, even if she could remember nothing else of the journey.

* * *

"-ri!"

Kairi groaned, feeling another sort of pain now. These aches were almost refreshing compared to the one in her heart however.

"Kairi!"

Slowly opening her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of two very worried looking chipmunks standing over her on their short stubby feet.

"Kairi!" Chip said in relief. "You're awake!"

"Ugh," Kairi said, rising slowly. "Wha-what happened?"

"The engine went into overdrive," Dale answered, "and we went faster than we'd ever gone before!"

"So, it worked?"

The two chipmunks looked at each other.

"Well, we're not actually sure," Chip admitted.

"Oh, I see," Kairi sighed.

"But that doesn't mean it didn't work!" Dale quickly followed up.

Kairi chuckled slightly, reaching over and giving the chipmunk a scratch on the head.

"Thanks Dale. And you too, Chip."

"We're with you kiddo," Chip said. "All the way."

"That's right."

Kairi favored the two with another smile, then rose and looked about. She was still in the ship's cockpit, and the ship itself was still in the empty, dark avoid. Little wonder Chip said they were not sure if her little stunt with the keyblade had worked. Indeed from the looks of it, it had not.

"You said that the engine was in overdrive," Kairi said. "Did we, use up any fuel?"

"Oh!" Dale said. "Actually, we're completely topped off! So we could probably fly around for weeks on end without having to worry!"

"That's good," Kairi said.

Of course if they really did end up needing to do that, their food would be long gone beforehand. Kairi shook herself. Best not to dwell, and focus instead on things that she could do.

"So, we're still not picking anything up," Kairi said as she looked at the consoles.

"Well, no," Chip said as he hopped up to join her. "But look at it this way, if there is something out there, they'd have no trouble finding us!"

Kairi blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"The light that put the engine into overdrive," Dale clambered up as well, "it's still going strong. Right now the ship's lit up like a flare! Or maybe even a star!"

That caused Kairi's eyes to widen slightly as she considered those words. A star. In the blackest of nights, no light could be seen because the clouds obscured the stars that shone. But even so, there was still the light that you yourself could shine. It might be only one light, and it might pale compared to the blanket of stars that would otherwise cover the sky, but it was still a light.

"You're right," Kairi said softly, and a gentle, almost relieved smile appeared on her face. "You're right." She looked out the window. "Darkness might be all we see, but we don't need to wait for someone else's light. We can make our own, so that once we do find someone else out there, we'll have light aplenty to share."

End of Prologue

I should not have written this. I should not have published this. Except I needed to get this damn thing out of my head so that I can focus on other things.

So the premise of this story is basically a bad-end occurring sometime in KH3. Where/when that bad-end diverges from the canon timeline is something that will be revealed in future chapters, whenever I get around to them. Needless to say however Xenohart has succeeded in his ambition, sort of. Things are a tad more complicated than at first glance, and exploring the ramifications of it all will play a major part in this story.

Now, why did I bother starting this story? Well, part of it is in pure frustration at how limited Kairi's role has been throughout the franchise. She's supposed to be a main character, but you sure couldn't tell that based on the things she's done. At times it genuinely felt like the only way she'd get to shine was if basically everyone else was removed from the board. Which got me thinking, well, why not write a story where exactly that happened? With only Kairi (more or less) left, she must rise to the challenge of rekindling the light. And in so doing, maybe I'll be able to tell a good story.

Technically speaking, Kairi isn't actually my favorite character of the girls in the KH franchise. Best girl would be Aqua, and yes, you can expect her to show up at some point. I do however have a soft spot for redheads, as anyone that has read my previous works can attest to, and I also enjoy the challenge of taking relatively underutilized characters and turning them into something much more. I also have a tendency to, even if I provide happy ends for my stories, make the characters in my stories work to get those ends. Just how happy an end Kairi will get in this story, all of you will have to wait and see. Time will tell if I can make mine as impactful as the one in KH3.

Drop a review to let me know what you all think. That may or may not affect the priority of which story I update next, seeing as I probably have one too many stories going on already.


	2. Chapter 1: A Single Spark

Chapter 1: A Single Spark

Two days had passed since the blind jump in the gummi ship, two days in which Kairi and the chipmunks set about doing their best to better their chances. After a very thorough examination of the ship's stores and an almost ruthless degree of rationalization, they had been able to allocate the remaining food and stretch it out to last two weeks instead of the original week it was meant for. By the end of those two weeks they would probably be near starving, but every extra day could mean the difference between being around to find a safe harbor versus perishing outright before then. In the meantime, Kairi continued exploring the ship to learn more about it, and indeed finding just how much there was to learn.

"It's sort of amazing," she remarked as the three of them walked down a corridor. "How much bigger the ship is on the inside than the outside."

"Yup yup!" Chip said. "The king was the one that figured out how to do it, but we're the ones that helped him pull it all together!"

"So, how does it work then?" Kairi asked.

"Well see, the king figured out that you can put a space inside of a space," Dale answered. "That way, you can get more space to put more things in where you only had space for fewer things before!"

That was borderline gibberish, but it was simple enough that Kairi could mull over it a bit.

"So, are you saying the spaces are overlapping?" she suggested.

"Yup! Gee, you're pretty smart yourself, Kairi," Chip said. "When we get the time I could go over the math for ya!"

"Oh, that's okay," Kairi quickly said. "I'll just take your word for it."

Numbers and her, did not mix well. Hardly a surprise for someone her age.

"Aww, no one ever wants to see the math," Chip sighed.

Giggling slightly, Kairi reached over and gave the chipmunk a scratch on the head. Whereas she was walking on the floor, the two were ambling along on the guardrail so that it was easier for her to look over at them without constantly straining her neck. The trio had already gone through the engine room, the dining area, and the small attached kitchenette. Then there were the bunks, enough for a crew of four Kairi's size while Chip and Dale's hammocks occupied a corner to the side where no one might risk tripping over them. There was plenty of space all-around though, and while Kairi could have picked any of the bunkbeds for her use, she found herself unable to move aside the sheets and items belonging to the gummi ship's previous crew. The things that belonged to Donald, Goofy, and Sora. So instead she had taken the fourth bunk, leaving the others be, just in case.

"So, what's this room?" she asked as they reached another door.

"The armory," Dale answered. "Here, let me teach you the code. "One billion two hundred thirty-four million five hundred sixty-seven thousand eight hundred ninety."

Kairi spent a few seconds thinking through the numbers before blinking. "Wait, isn't that just one two three four-"

"Ooo, see, you are good with numbers," Chip said.

"I, guess," Kairi said with a wry smile. "Umm, is that password okay?"

"Sure!" Chip declared. "It's easy to remember, and since you push ALL the buttons, no one can tell which buttons are used and which aren't!"

"That's, actually pretty clever," Kairi had to admit.

"Give it a try," Dale prompted her.

Kairi did just that, and after punching in the secret? passcode the door opened. Peering in, she could not help but gasp at the sight that was revealed.

"Are these? I mean…"

"These are all the keyblades, shields, and staves Sora, Donald, and Goofy collected on their journey," Dale said, noticeably more subdued than before.

"All these?" Kairi said in some wonderment.

There must have been dozens of keyblades, with a myriad of unique designs on display. And while the numbers of shields and staves were noticeably fewer, they were far from lacking in variation either.

"All these weapons," Kairi said. "Just how many worlds did you guys visit to find so many?"

Chip and Dale said nothing, letting Kairi wander the chamber as she looked at each one. Here, there was a round shield with the emblem of a mouse's head on it. There, a staff that looked more like a broom than a magical instrument. And before her now, a shining silver keyblade with wings for its hilt and a pink wayfinder dangling from the end. Kairi felt her heart quicken a beat. Gingerly, reaching out, her fingers wrapped around the handle. Closing her eyes, she tried to connect with the keyblade, to draw upon any light that lingered within it. Her effort was quickly rewarded as a gentle warm suffused her. Smiling slightly, Kairi opened her eyes and beheld the slight glow of the keyblade.

"I can still feel you," she said. "Within not just this, but all the keyblades you have ever held."

As if to prove true those words, all of the keyblades began glowing. Dimly perhaps, but there was indeed still light within them.

"You fought by Sora's side," Kairi continued. "Will you fight by mine?"

She lifted the keyblade, and its form held. The light did not go away. Indeed, it felt as if the light was echoing the one within her as well, echoing and growing into a bright cascade. The key acknowledged her. Acknowledged her as its master, in place of the one it had lost.

"Thank you," Kairi whispered, even as tears once more streaked down her cheeks.

She had forced herself to stop crying these past two days, to deal with the immediate need that they faced. But right now, it was okay for her to cry again, right? Just for a little while.

* * *

Kairi stared out into the black void in silent contemplation. They were nearing the end of the first week of rationing, and while all of them were trying to keep their spirits up, the short meals were not helping. Still, she pressed forward, as that was the only thing she could do. And it was not as if the past few days had not been productive. By now she was becoming a deft hand at the gummi ship's controls, able to perform any of the myriad of maneuvers the ship was capable of. Of course it was just a bit hard to see how well she was performing those maneuvers when there were no points of reference outside, but it at least felt like she was doing them correctly from the inside.

She had also learned how to operate the gummi ship's weapons, though the first time she fired them they had been stunned to see a massive beam of light erupt from the cannons. That was apparently not what they were supposed to do. Or rather, it was supposed to shoot beam of lights, but the strength of the shot was beyond Chip and Dale's expectations. Whatever Kairi had done to send the engine into overdrive seem to have extended to the ship's weapons as well. That was probably a good thing, since it meant if they did run into anything dangerous, they should be able to handle it. Of course they still needed to run into something first.

Since that discovery however, it had been decided to fire off low powered shots, still extremely luminous, at regular intervals to act as a sort of beacon in case there was something out there. Even if that attracted something hostile, finding anything at all was still better than being left with the impression that they really were the only things left. It was about time for another shot, and Kairi reached for the controls to do just that when the console began beeping.

"Huh?"

Even if Kairi now knew, mostly, what all of the various buttons and switches did on the bridge, that was not quite the same as being an experienced practitioner. As such it took her a few seconds to register just which system was calling for her attention. When she did, her eyes widened.

"Chip!" Kairi called over the ship intercom. "Dale! The gummi radio is receiving something!"

"What!?"

"We'll be right up!"

"Okay, I'm going to try to figure out what we're getting," Kairi said, working the console.

Radio was again not exactly some new magical thing for Kairi, there were plenty of radios back at Destiny Islands. The one aboard the gummi ship was far more complicated of course, and using it required her to actually understand concepts like frequency and phases. Back home they had just been words that the adults threw around. Now she could not help but wonder whether even they understood the actual principles the words described. Probably not.

As it was, Kairi's own efforts to manipulate the radio were quite amateurish. She however had learned enough to try and tune in on the signal's frequency while waiting for Chip and Dale. At first her efforts were rewarded only with the hiss and pop of static. Slowly but surely, sounds started filtering through. And from those sounds, words.

"….darkness…hear this…sanctuary…find…the beacon….I repeat…trapped in this darkness, if you can…this, know that we offer sanctuary. Find the light we shine, and use it as a beacon. We await you. I repeat, to those trapped in this darkness, if you can hear this, know that we offer sanctuary. Find the light we shine, and use it as a beacon. We await you."

The signal was a message, one that looped over and over again. As Kairi listened, her eyes widened at the revelation. Someone, somewhere out there, was still alive. Not just that, they were calling out to other survivors. Why had she not thought of that? Because deep down, she had feared of the silence that might be the only answer? Kairi shook her head. No, she needed to stop constantly second guessing herself.

"Kairi!"

"Chip, Dale," Kairi looked over at the two chipmunks as they scampered in. "Can you track that message? Figure out where it came from?"

"We sure can try," Dale said, hopping up and flicking some switches.

"Differential range finding initiated," Chip announced. "Dale, give me the readings from the antennas."

"Got first at 15, second at 16, and a third at 12."

"Right, so carry the two and, there!"

An arrow started blinking on the gyro, pointing slightly to the right and up a bit.

"That fast!?" Kairi said in mild astonishment.

"It was easy!" Chip declared. "All we needed to do was see how long it took our antennas to pick up the signal, then compare the different times for each one! The one that picked it up sooner is the one that's closer to the signal's source!"

"Oh, that, makes sense," Kairi said.

It was probably one of the more understandable of the explanations Chip and Dale had given her the past few days. Taking the controls, Kairi maneuvered the ship until the gyro's arrow was pointed straight ahead.

"Full speed ahead!" Chip pronounced.

Kairi allowed a smile at that. "Roger."

The ship's engines ignited and a streak of light began cutting through the darkness. As they flew, Kairi continued listening to the message being broadcast. It was a boy's voice speaking the words, or perhaps a young man. It certainly sounded youthful at least, but it was not a voice she recognized. The person was promising sanctuary, suggesting that wherever he was remained untouched by the creeping darkness. No, untouched was perhaps too strong a claim, especially if they knew enough about what was going on to be sending this message.

"Kairi, should we try answering?" Dale suggested, hoping onto the armrest.

"Oh! Good idea. Umm, what should I say?"

"How about just letting them know we're on the way?" Chip offered.

"Umm, okay, I'll give it a shot." Reaching over, Kairi flicked on the pickup. "Umm, this is the Kingdom gummi ship. We have heard your message, and are following your signal. Please, keep transmitting to let us find you."

And turned it off.

"There, was that good enough?"

"Yuyup," Chip said. "Now we just gotta wait and see if they heard it!"

Kairi's lips thinned. The waiting, that was going to be heard. She so wanted to hear more from the voice, to hear words that were more than a recording. That would be the surest sign yet that others were still out there, that there was indeed hope. Just as surely as her response would bring hope to them.

"Hello?"

Kairi inhaled sharply.

"Kingdom ship, can you hear me?"

"Yes! Yes I can!" Kairi cried out. "Can you hear me!?"

No response came, not immediately at least. Wherever the other side was, it must have been far, far away. Far away enough that it took time for their messages to reach each other. With bated breath Kairi waited for the next one to arrive. When it did, she let out a sigh she had not even realized she was holding.

"Kingdom ship," the voice sounded again. "We read you loud and clear. And, allow me to say, it fills me with great joy to hear your voice."

"Same here," Kairi said, her face split by the wide smile she now bore. "I-I hoped so much, that I'd be able to find someone else. I-*hic*-I'm so glad. *hic*. So glad, to hear someone else."

Looking up, Chip and Dale gave Kairi comforting looks as tears once more streaked down her cheeks. This time though, it was not in sorrow that they were shed. This time it was in pure relief, even happiness. Of having her hopes vindicated, and her fears quashed. The weight upon her shoulders felt just a little bit lighter now.

"Are you in need of any assistance?" the voice asked next. "Or anyone else on your ship?"

"Oh! No, no, we're, well, we should be, okay?" Kairi said, looking quizzically at Chip.

"Let's see, it takes three minutes between each message, and with how fast radio goes, that means they're, not that far away!" the chipmunk declared. "We should get to them with plenty of time to spare!"

"Umm, it seems we're close enough that we can safely get to you," Kairi said. "There's three of us, me, and two ship engineers."

"Understood," the answer came after the requisite time. "I look forward to meeting all of you when the time comes."

"Me too," Kairi said. "Me too."

* * *

As the hours passed, Kairi was starting to wonder just what Chip's definition of 'not that far' actually was. Perhaps on an absolute scale the distance between them and this sanctuary might not be that long, but every minute that passed still felt like an eternity. That was not to say she was completely bereft of any sign of progress. She continued speaking with the person on the other side, and the time for his responses noticeably decreased. And in the process, she was given more hope that there was indeed a sanctuary waiting for her upon her arrival.

"Yes, we've got plenty of food and water. In fact, this entire place is designed to be self-sustaining even in the case of a planetary extinction event."

"I see," Kairi said, smiling wryly to herself. It certainly sounded like the person on the other end was more technically inclined than her. "And you helped design it all?"

"Well, I might have conceived the original idea, but this ark is the product of hundreds of people, thousands even, coming together and sharing my dream."

"That sounds wonderful," Kairi said, then realization hit her. "Hey! You're answering right away now!"

"That's right, you must be close enough to allow for real-time radio contact. You're almost here."

Almost there, just a little longer, then they'd almost be there.

"I'll see you soon then," Kairi said.

"I look forward to it."

Close though they may be, the view outside the ship was still pitch black. Or was it? Squinting, Kairi tried to pick out any divergences from the uniform darkness. There, right there, a single dot peeked out. Kairi raised her hand and pointed a finger at it.

"That," she declared. "That's where they are."

"Wow Kairi, I'm amazed you could pick that out!" Chip said.

"Golly, it's sure nice to finally see something out there," Dale added.

"Yes it is," Kairi agreed. "Umm, let's see, navigation is set, the ship is properly oriented." She sighed. "There really is a lot to piloting a gummi ship."

"Well normally you'd have a navigator and a gunner helping," Chip said. "There's three chairs up here for a reason after all!"

"Oh, right," Kairi said, then giggled slightly. "I suppose that makes sense. Keeping track of all the details would have been kinda hard for him."

A touch of melancholy accompanied that last bit, but it was still an improvement that she could refer to the youth, even if in passing.

"Sorry we can't help do all that for ya," Dale said. "Always meant to add some more consoles up here that we could use, but there was always something more important to see to. And the king never needed any help when he was flying, sos it just never got done."

"That's alright," Kairi assured him. "If all I'm doing is trying to keep the ship straight on its path, I think I can handle it."

"You sure picked all this up quick though," Chip complimented her. "I remember when Donald and Goofy were trying to teach So-me other guy how to work the ship. Half the time we were walking around on the ceiling!"

Kairi giggled, giving Chip an appreciative scratch. "Sora, he was never one for using his head for thinking. He tended to follow his heart, for better or worse."

Chip smiled back at her, letting Kairi know he understood the other subtext of her response.

"He also missed quite a few years of school," Kairi said. "Not that he was very attentive even back when he was attending. Always with his head in the sky, wanting to go on some grand adventure." She sighed. "Always looking forward instead of back."

"Kairi," Dale said softly.

With a reassuring smile, Kairi gave the chipmunk a pat. "But even as he was looking ahead, he also had an eye out for those next to him. His friends, his family, even when he went charging off ahead, he would always hold us in his heart." Her hand came to a rest over her chest. "And that's why I hold him in mine."

"Kairi," Chip echoed Dale.

Before the girl could respond however, a very loud beep intruded upon them.

"Huh? What?"

"It's the radar!" Chip said, hopping over to the console in question. "We're picking up something! Lots of somethings!"

Despite the controls being clearly oversized for him, Chip was still able to push buttons and flick switches with practiced rapidity. When he was done, a projection appeared before Kairi with the gummi ship at the center, and countless dots between them and their destination.

"What are those?" Kairi wondered.

"Heartless!" Dale immediately cried out in response. "We've got Heartless!"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Here!? How'd they find us!?"

Before anyone could venture a guess the radio crackled again.

"Kingdom ship, you need to divert," the voice returned, sounding much more frantic this time. "There's a massive swarm of Cie'th approaching us. We'll try to fight them off, and we'll let you know when it's safe to approach."

"Cie'th? What are Cie'th?"

"Could they be talking about the Heartless?" Chip suggested.

"Maybe," Kairi said, then keyed the radio. "Umm, we can help! My ship is armed, and we can't just stand here and watch you take on the Heartless, I mean the Cie'th, by yourself!"

There was a definite pause before an answer came, and this time not due to any great stretch of distance.

"I can't ask you to endanger yourself for us."

Kairi's jaw tightened. "You don't need to ask. You've already offered to help us in our time of need, to grant us sanctuary, without asking for anything in return. Well I can't just stand by and do nothing when you are the ones with a need, a need that I can help fulfill!"

Another pause. When the response came however, the relief was equally audible. More than it, as another projection popped up, this one showing a silver haired young man wearing a white jacket with yellow sleeves and a teal tie. He was older than Kairi certainly, but still younger than might be expected for someone whom was apparently of some standing and authority.

"Then, allow me to ask. On behalf of the Academia Ark, any aid that you might lend, we would be eternally grateful for."

Kairi's eyes widened before she looked over at Chip. "Can, can we send video too?"

"You betcha!" Chip responded, jumping over to turn on the camera feed without further prompting.

"Wai-umm."

Too late now. Kairi took a deep breath. She could at least try to muster a dignified sounding, and looking, answer.

"This is the Kingdom gummi ship," Kairi began. "Though we are but a single ship, any help that is within our means, we will give with all our hearts."

The young man smiled, and nodded. "Thank you."

The projection disappeared, marking the end of the connection.

"Umm, we should probably get ready for a fight," Kairi said.

"Beginning battle preparations!" Chip shouted. "Bringing weapons online!"

The two chipmunks began hopping about, moving around the controls so quickly Kairi had trouble trying to follow all their actions with her eyes.

"Diverting power to shields, engines, and weapons," Dale said.

"Systems all A-Okay! We're ready when you are, Kairi!"

They might have been, but it still took a beat before Kairi's thoughts could catch up with the flurry of activity. Not exactly a good thing when she was about to go into battle.

"A-alright, let's go!"

Too late now. Pushing the throttle, Kairi urged the gummy ship to charge forth. At first Kairi could not see anything at all in the black backdrop around them. Indeed even as the beeps on the radar drew ever closer, she still could not see anything.

"Umm, Chip? Dale? How do I shoot something I can't even seen!?" Kairi asked.

Not even the gummi ship's powerful lights could reach far enough to reveal the countless Heartless that were out there.

"Just use the light from the cannon's shots!" Chip suggested.

"Oh, right!"

Pulling the trigger, a pair of bright lances erupted. As they streaked through the void, the light they shone finally brought the swarm of Heartless into view.

"That's…a lot…of Heartless," Kairi remarked. "And…they're…coming this way!"

The first shot was deliberate, to let her see what lay ahead. The next barrage was purely reflexive as beams of light sliced through the surging waves of Heartless. Each shot sliced through dozens of the creatures with seemingly no effort, spilling their forms into blackened mist. In the process, ripples of light flickered off the particulate remnants and the dim glow provided further illumination upon their surroundings. Granted all that seemed to do was show just how many Heartless were out there, as well as how big some of them were.

"What is THAT!?" Kairi exclaimed.

"I've never seen a Heartless like that before!" Chip declared.

Multiple pairs of gilded silvery wings filled the window, with countless smaller Heartless circling around. The thing was so large that Kairi would not have been able to make out the full shape even without all of the Heartless orbiting it.

"Keep firing Kairi!" Dale shouted.

"Got it!"

The gummi ship was now cutting a swathe through the swarm of Heartless, leaving a trail of luminescent dust in its wake. Even so there did not seem to be any end to them in sight.

"How many Heartless are out there!?" Kairi exclaimed.

"Maybe we need to take out the big one!" Chip suggested.

"Erm, can we even!?"

A fair enough question, seeming as the giant silver Heartless must have been several orders of magnitude larger than the gummi ship.

"We won't know until we try!"

True enough, and there was nothing to do but press onward. The ship shook. Of course no one said it would be easy.

"We've got Heartless to the aft!" Dale said. "Shields holding!"

Kairi clenched her teeth as another hit caused the ship to shudder.

"Do a barrel roll!"

"A what!?" Kairi called back.

"Spin the ship!"

Despite not knowing what good that would do, Kairi obliged and sent the gummi ship into a rapid spin. While her seatbelt kept her from being thrown out of the chair outright, Chip and Dale were left grabbing onto whatever they could and were left dangling as they went up and down. Not that Kairi had any attention to spare as she tried to keep pace with the spinning view outside the ship. Somehow the maneuver got them clear of the Heartless chasing them, and lined the ship up for a shot at the big one some distance away.

"Keep shooting Kairi!"

"Got it!"

More beams lanced out, on seeming course for the giant Heartless at the center of all this. They fell short however, intercepted by new swarms of Heartless that billowed forth.

"There's too many!" she said. "I can't, every time I fire at the big one, more of the little ones show up to block it!"

"Are they protecting the boss!?"

"Maybe," Kairi said. "We have to get closer!"

The gummi ship veered hard to the right, breaking away from hordes of Heartless swirling around. Zigging and zagging and even rolling about, Kairi weaved and cleaved a path through the Heartless until she was almost right atop her target.

"Firing!"

A single salvo thundered from the gummi ship, the guns set at their maximum power. The eruption of light was like a miniature sun igniting, bright enough to wash out Kairi's own sight. The girl quickly yanked the controls aside, to avoid crashing into the very thing she had shot. That meant going straight back into the swarm of Heartless, and Kairi could the impact of each one as they slammed into the shields. Somehow they held and the ship emerged on the other side.

"Did we get it!?" Chip asked.

Bringing the ship about, Kairi could see the outlines of the massive Heartless still floating there, its wings slowly wavering back and forth. No, that was not all. One of the wings was moving out of sync with the others, and it soon became apparent it had snapped off the back of the beast.

"Not yet," Kairi said. "We didn't get it yet, but we hurt it."

As if to affirm that, a rumble reverberated through the ship.

"What was that!?"

"I think we made it angry," Kairi said. Her lips thinned. "Here they come!"

Another swarm of Heartless was now barreling down upon her. Even as Kairi fired again and again, burning holes in their ranks, more seemed to emerge to immediately fill those holes in. The ship was now shaking even more as the Heartless pummeled it mercilessly. Alarms began blaring as the shield strained under the unrelenting attacks.

"We gotta get out of here Kairi!" Chip cried.

"Not yet," Kairi responded. "If we run, this Heartless is going to attack the ark. And if we let it, how knows how many people will get hurt? How many will die? We can't go, not yet!"

She could not go, but did she stand any chance of victory? No matter how many Heartless she shot down, more always seemed to appear. The alarms were now reaching a terrible crescendo as they began collapsing outright and the attacks from the Heartless impacted the gummi ship's hull. Chip and Dale screamed in panic, hanging onto whatever they could. Kairi was not deaf to their fears, but she could only focus on keeping the ship together, and them alive, for a little bit longer. As another blast hit the gummi ship, a flicker of doubt touched her heart. Could she even manage this for much longer, much less actually defeat the giant Heartless?

More explosions rumbled outside the ship, but these felt far more subdued compared to the impacts the Heartless were peppering upon them. Looking about, Kairi's eyes widened as countless Heartless disappeared under the withering fire of, something.

"Kingdom ship," a stern, strong voice sounded over the radio. "This is the Guardian Corps. We will cover your approach."

As the gummi ship broke through the cloud of Heartless, Kairi found she was now flanked by a dozen other ships. Unlike the boxy design her own ship, these were more angled and possessed of graceful curves.

"Umm, thank you very much!" Kairi said reflexively.

"It is you whom we owe thanks to," the voice responded. "Your attack upon Bhunivelze drew away the swarms of Cie'th attacking the ark. And yours was the first to ever wound the fallen god."

At a loss for words, Kairi's mouth opened and closed without making a response.

"Is your ship still able to fight?"

Looking about, Kairi saw plenty of indicator lights trying to tell her something. Unable to make sense of all the information, or at least not quickly enough, she instead looked over to Chip and Dale.

"We're banged up something awful, but it'll take more than that to bring down the gummi ship!" Chip declared.

"Umm, yes, it can," Kairi offered a more compact answer.

"We will handle the Cie'th then. If you could clip off another of Bhunivelze's wings, perhaps that will force him to withdraw, and spare the ark further attacks."

Kairi gave a firm nod, not that the other person could see it. "I'll do my best."

"Good luck."

Several of the other ships broke off, engaging other parts of the Heartless swarm to distract them. The rest continued following Kairi, keeping Heartless off her ship as she began another run on the one they called Bhunivelze. Their weapons were nowhere as effective as the gummi ship's, but they proved adept enough at destroying all that crossed their paths. Kairi's own contributions didn't hurt, and they were quickly through the outer layers.

"I've got a shot," Kairi announced over the radio. "Firing!"

The moment the gummi ship opened up, a torrent of Heartless converged to try to block the blast. They were only partially successful, with one of the lances disappearing into a black pocket before turning it into another glowing cloud of dust. The second beam however flew true, cleaving through the wing's joint. It was not a clean cut however, enough bone remained that the wing simply tilted over, broken but still part of the whole. A much deeper rumble echoed through the gummi ship, a rumble that Kairi now recognized to be a cry of pain by the massive Heartless. Despite it all, Kairi could not but help feel a little sorry for the creature.

"It's veering away!" the radio crackled again. "The Cie'th are also pulling back!"

Out the window, the light shone far enough to allow Kairi to witness the retreat. The radar gave an even more complete picture as more and more of it cleared up. Slumping back into her seat, Kairi let out a sigh of relief.

"We did it," she murmured.

"We did it!" Chip cried out with just a bit more enthusiasm.

"We sure did," Dale agreed.

Beaming as smile at the two, Kairi reached over and pulled them into an embrace.

"Thank you, I couldn't have done this without you."

"Aww, shucks Kairi," Dale said. "You were there as much for us."

"Yeah!"

Giggling slightly, Kairi gave them another squeeze before setting them down again, and just in time for the radio to sound again.

"Kingdom ship, do you read?"

"Loud and clear," Kairi responded.

"Are you still able to maneuver?"

A pair of thumps up answered Kairi when she glanced over at the two chipmunks.

"Yes, we can."

"Then please, allow us the honor of escorting you to the ark."

Around the gummi ship the other survivors of the battle fell in line, forming a vee shape flanking it. The other ships were flying close enough that Kairi could actually make out some of the pilots in their cockpits, as surely as some of them could probably make her out. She gave a friendly wave.

"I am in your hands then," Kairi answered.

The squadron veered right and Kairi made sure to match their course and speed as best she could. As they drew closer to what Kairi presumed to be the ark, more and more lights turned on to give a proper visage of the construct. Kairi's eyes widened as they continued their approach, the immensity of the ark finally becoming clear.

"How-how big is that thing!?" she exclaimed.

"Woowee," Chip gave an admiring whistle. "That's a mighty big ball!"

The outline from the lights was indeed spherical, making the entire thing look like a small moon. Kairi continued to gape in wonderment even as her hands guided the gummi ship after her escorts. Soon enough they were close enough that the ark took up most of the view, with a distant dim horizon the only break in the sight. The ships headed for a large, cavernous opening, big enough for all of them to fit through comfortably without fear of collision. Down on the ground, Kairi could see countless people waving, jumping, and cheering in greeting.

"So many people," Kairi murmured.

Having grown up in the Destiny Islands, Kairi was used to smaller environs where one could be expected to know all your neighbors. The biggest, most populated places she had visited since were Traverse Town and Twilight Town, but as those names suggested, even those places were a far cry from the masses she could see just here. With how big the ark was, how many more people might call this place home? As the gummi ship set down, she prepared to find out.

"Ship systems locked down," Chip declared.

"Can never be too careful," Dale added.

"Right," Kairi agreed.

These people seemed kind enough, but they were still strangers and the gummi ship was the only thing she had to her name. Better safe than sorry and all that. Once done with their precautions, the two chipmunks jumped over and dove into Kairi's hood. Taking a deep breath, Kairi left the cockpit and walked down to the boarding ramp. She took another breath, but still the jitters in her stomach remained.

"Well, here goes nothing."

The door opened and Kairi emerged onto the ramp. The massive crowd gathered to greet her quickly fell silent as they caught sight of her, surprise evident on many faces. Nervously, Kairi gave a wave.

"Umm, hello?"

That seemed to do it, as smiles quickly swept across the expressions facing her. Then, one by one, their hands came together in rapturous applause.

"Oh umm, that's really not necessary," Kairi said as she stepped forward.

As she did so, the crowd similarly came forth to meet her, and soon those hands that weren't clapping were reaching out to take hers. Soon both of Kairi's were busy accepting handshakes as she accepted thanks after thanks, the girl bashfully trying to insist she deserved none of this adulation. From the way the steady stream of people continued to flow, the ark's people disagreed wholeheartedly.

Just as Kairi was wondering if this would go on forever, the crowd began parting to give way. The person they were stepping aside for was quickly recognized by Kairi as the young man that had spoke to her over the radio. Accompanying him were quite a few other people cradling helmets under their arms, though the youth in question was emptyhanded. With clear respect and deference, the crowd made sure to give space for them to approach Kairi. The girl simply stood there, hands clasped together as she nervously waited. When they were before her, all of them bowed.

"Young miss," the youth said. "On behalf of all Academy Ark, I thank you for coming at our time of great need."

Not only the young man, everyone around her all bent over in respectful bows. Kairi's eyes went wide and she frantically waved her hand before her.

"You-you don't have to do that!" she said. "I mean, you don't have to thank me for helping, I was just doing the right thing!"

If that was meant to somehow decrease the degree of magnanimity the gathered felt she possessed, it achieved the complete opposite. Not a single soul rose, as all remained bowed before her.

"To not show gratitude, regardless of your motives, would make us utterly undeserving of having received your aid," the young man said instead. "Please, accept our thanks. For our sake, and yours."

Kairi grimaced ever so slightly, but sighing and allowing a gentle smile to grace her lips once more.

"Very well. You are welcome, all of you."

Finally the crowd rose and Kairi was face to face once more with the young man.

"Might I ask the name of our savior?" he asked.

"Kairi," she answered.

"Kairi," the youth repeated, then bowed slightly once more. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Hope Estheim, leader of the Academy. Please, know that you are welcome here, as a friend, and more."

"Thank you," Kairi said with a nod. "I'm glad to have-*hic*-"

Hope blinked, cocking his head aside quizzically.

"I'm," Kairi tried again, "glad-*hic*-"

Again however her voice cracked, as if the words were caught in her throat and could not escape. What did escape however left a warm trail across her cheeks. Reaching up, Kairi felt the tears trickle forth once more. She thought she had cried enough already. As the pain and fear bundled with her finally began to unwind from the presence of all these welcoming smiles, Kairi found out just how wrong she was. And yet, these were still her words.

"I'm glad."

End of Chapter 1

One more chapter before I go work on my other fics, to provide more context as to what sort of story this will be. A shortish one compared to the standard length I like to aim for, but this felt like a good place to end it.

Kairi's crying quite a bit, but she's been on something of an emotional roller-coaster for a while now. She's lost Sora and the others, the darkness has consumed everything she knows, as far as Kairi knows she has no home to go back to and no family to save. Now that she's finally in a relatively safe place, she can finally relax and take the time to deal with that torrent of emotions.

So, Disney Promotion 3, I mean Kingdom Hearts III, had the unfortunate problem of basically shoving aside all of the Square Enix worlds and characters for more Disney content. This is understandable from a practical perspective, since the developers only had so much time to get the game out, and there is an upper limit to how many worlds we can visit before sheer fatigue sets in. But since there already exists a story wherein the KH characters travel to various Disney worlds, I've elected to go the other direction and only use Square Enix worlds, even if some of their characters might show up.

That all being said, the Square worlds we're visiting will obviously see some recontextualization so that they make sense in the KH setting. So while the various characters will remain who they are, what they are will change as necessary to accommodate the plot.

Keep the questions coming if you have them. They provide useful feedback that lets me gauge ho well I'm embedding information into the story proper. While it is unlikely I'd ever be able to preemptively answer all questions in the story itself, ideally I should not be leaving all sorts of plotholes that I'd have to fill via author notes, and questions that raise those points help me gauge how successful (or not) I am.


	3. Chapter 2: Cast in Pale

Chapter 2: Cast in Pale

"Sorry," Kairi apologized as she got her crying under control.

"Take all the time you need," Hope said gently.

"No, I'm, I'm okay now," Kairi said, wiping away the last of the tears. She gave a polite bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hope."

Hope smiled back, then looked around a bit. "Is this, everyone? You mentioned others when we spoke."

"Oh, right!" Kairi gave her hood a slight shake. "You can come out, guys."

The quizzical look on Hope's face quickly popped into surprise as the two chipmunks clambered out, one on each side of Kairi's shoulders.

"Hiya!" Dale said with a wave. "I'm Dale."

"And I'm Chip!"

"Woah," Hope exclaimed. "You're, talking animals?"

"Yeah! What, you never seen one before?" Chip said.

Hope actually took a moment to think that over. "Well, unless Mog counts, then no, not really."

"Mog?" Kairi tilted her head quizzically.

"Mog is a moogle," Hope explained. "They're, well…"

"Oh, I know what moogles are," Kairi said. "And, I'm glad some of them survived."

That elicited a gentle smile from Hope. "Your kindness does you great credit, Kairi. But please, come. You must be tired after your journey, and it would not do to keep you standing about."

As Kairi followed, Chip and Dale dove back into her hood, though their heads popped out to let them watch the passing crowd. A few people even waved at them, which the chipmunks were more than happy to respond to in kind. From some of the cooing sounds that elicited, their cuteness was winning them as many fans as Kairi's heroism.

The trio followed Hope in boarding a very comfortable car, which took them to a towering structure that seemed to lie at the heart of the ark. From there, Hope further personally accompanied them to what appeared to be a medical ward, where Kairi and the chipmunks were given a quick checkup to make sure they were okay. There was a slight delay as someone actually qualified to examine non-humans was brought in though.

"Look here please," the examining doctor said, shining a light.

Kairi followed the light as it moved back and forth, her eyes tracking its motion. Seemingly satisfied with the response, the doctor moved onto taking her pulse and blood pressure, took a look inside her mouth, as well as checking her reflexes.

"Ow," Kairi reacted as her knee was tapped.

A slight look of concern flickered across Hope's face, and the doctor's as well.

"Alright Kairi, I'm going to listen in on your lungs," the doctor said, putting on the stethoscope. "When I ask you to, please breathe deeply."

"Umm, o-KAY!" Kairi hiccupped slightly at the cold metal touching her skin.

"Ah, my apologies," the doctor said with a kindly smile.

"No, it's okay," Kairi said, blushing ever so slightly.

Noticing the reddening of the girl's face, the doctor glanced back to give Hope a pointed look. The young man got the hint and turned about, letting Kairi have her privacy.

"Now, breathe," the doctor instructed.

Kairi obeyed and inhaled slowly before letting out the air. She repeated the act a few more times before the doctor withdrew the scope.

"You're showing very slight signs of malnutrition," the examining doctor said. "I recommend a hearty meal before getting a good night of sleep."

Kairi's stomach growled, as if to emphasize the doctor's prognosis. The girl's cheeks colored slightly as she gave a sheepish smile.

"That, sounds like a good idea."

Hope chuckled. "We can certainly arrange that." He glanced over at the man examining the chipmunks. "I presume these two are in similar condition, Dr. Gysahl?"

"Just about," the veterinarian said. "Whatever they've been eating, it's not been nearly enough."

"We had to save as much as we could!" Dale said.

"Yeah! We didn't know when we'd ever find someplace to land!" Chip added.

"I see," Hope said with a slight grimace. "I had not known your situation was that dire. And yet, grave as it was, you still came unhesitatingly to our aid."

"That's our Kairi for ya!" Chip said. "She's not a princess of light for nothing!"

Hope's form stiffened ever so slightly as he adopted a more formal poise. "Princess of light? I was not aware I was in the presence of royalty. My apologies if I have overstepped."

Kairi quickly shook her head. "No, no! That's, just an honorific! I'm not a princess or anything at all."

Hope gave a playful chuckle at Kairi's quick denial. "Well, from what we witnessed of the battle, it seems to be a fitting one. Now then, Your Highness, would you care to accompany me to your meal?"

Kairi's cheeks puffed out in a pout. The others in the room all looked away to hide the grins the expression elicited.

"I'm not a princess," Kairi insisted.

Perhaps recognizing that this was something of a sore point for the girl, Hope gave a slight bow of apology. As quick as Kairi had been to irritation however, she was even quicker to forgive and followed the youth to another room. Awaiting them was a table upon which a simple selection of food was set. Simple, albeit tantalizing as the aroma caused Kairi to pause a step when it hit her.

"Oh boy!"

Chip and Dale on the other hand were far more expressive in their appreciation of the food on offer and made for a mad dash for the table. Whomever had set the table had taken the consideration to providing plates and even small cutlery to accommodate the two chipmunks. There was of course also a set placed for Kairi.

"While the doctor did recommend a hearty meal, it was judged that we should start you slow so that your stomach is not overwhelmed by too heavy a food right away," Hope explained, pulling out the chair for Kairi.

"Umm, thank you," the girl said, though the tilt of her head indicated she was not quite sure how to interpret the courtesy.

"Don't think of this as treating you like royalty," Hope said with a slight smile. "Think of it as just another meager attempt to show how grateful all of us are for your coming in our hour of need."

Kairi returned the smile, albeit hers looked a bit more tired. "You've already said your thanks, Hope. And I have accepted it. Any more would be, excessive."

"Perhaps so," Hope said as he took a seat opposite Kairi at the cozy table.

Kairi's stomach growled again, a demand that she do something about the alluring smell wafting beneath her nose. Reaching out, she lifted the spoon with a helping of porridge and took a careful sip so as not to burn her tongue. The smile that suffused her face now was far more relaxed.

"Delicious."

"I am glad to hear it," Hope said.

"Oh boy, it feels like forever since we had fresh vegetables!" Dale cried out. "You can taste the difference from the frozen stuff!"

"We have a large hydroponics facility to grow the food we need," Hope said. "Academia is entirely self-sufficient, so long as we can keep all the systems powered."

"So whaddya guys use for fuel then?" Chip inquired in between packing his cheeks with diced carrots.

"Hydrogen, mostly," Hope answered. "It fuels the miniature sun at the center of Academia. We draw energy from the light it shines and use it to power the rest of the Ark."

"Hydrogen, huh," Dale remarked. "Lotsa that floating around the lanes inbetween, or least used to."

"Yes, we've noticed a considerable decrease in the amount of particulate matter in the void," Hope said. "While our reserves will suffice in the short term, we too need to find some sort of safe harbor to collect more matter eventually." The edge of Hope's lips quirked upward. "Though, if our scans are to be believed, the aftermath of our skirmish with Bhunivelze created a great deal of debris that if we're able to gather should measurably increase our reserves."

At that Kairi just stared blankly back at Hope. "Umm, that's, good, then?"

After a moment Hope let out a wry chuckle. "My apologies, I suppose if you are not familiar with our systems then this all probably sounds like gibberish."

"Well, I'm just not that, technically inclined," Kairi said. "Chip and Dale were the ones responsible for keeping the gummi ship running."

"Really," Hope said, regarding the two chipmunks with a degree of incredulity tinged with admiration. "I will be honest, I was not expecting this. The, gummi ship, is a rather fascinating construct. I hope you would not mind discussing its design with our own engineers?"

"No problemo," Chip said. "We're gonna need some help fixing 'er up after the banging we took from the battle anyway."

Hope regarded Kairi. "I hope this does not offend, but there is special interest in the weapons system your ship mounted. Its power and effectiveness against the cie'th far eclipses anything we possess."

"Oh well…"

Kairi tried, but found herself not quite able to explain the rather special circumstances behind that.

"Surprised the heck outta us too!" Chip however was more than happy to fill in. "The guns don't normally have that much juice in them, but ever since Kairi supercharged the ship with her light, it's been doing all sorts of stuff it couldn't before."

"Oh?" Hope said, regarding Kairi thoughtfully. "Is this an ability inherent in being a, princess of light?"

"I don't, think so?" Kairi said uncertainly. "It was never brought up before at least."

"Hmm yes, Chip, was it, did mention also being taken by surprise," Hope said, looking back at the chipmunks. "That actually explains a few things, including how the gummi ship does not appear to be a proper warship from its design."

"Nope," Dale said. "It was built to explore."

"Though the guns were added on just in case," Chip added. "The lanes in-between aren't always safe."

"So we have been finding out ourselves," Hope remarked. "Though, is your ship's ability to traverse it also because of Kairi?"

"Nope," Chip answered. "The gummi ship's always been able to fly around between worlds."

"Interesting," Hope said. "The Ark is able to traverse the void because of the shielding we have in place, but our smaller craft have much more limited endurance and need to stay relatively close by."

As Hope continued chatting engineering and technical details with the two chipmunks, Kairi turned into a passive observer of the conversation even while she worked away at the porridge. It really was tasty, and it was an equally satisfying feeling to actually be able to eat until she was full.

"Would you like another helping?" Hope asked as he noticed the now empty bowl.

"Oh, no thank you," Kairi said. "I honestly couldn't eat another bite." She offered a smile. "It was delicious."

"I am glad to hear it," Hope said, then regarded the two chipmunks whom also seemed satiated. "Let me take you to your room. We can talk more after you've had a night of proper rest."

Reaching out, Kairi let Chip and Dale climb up on her arm to dive back into her hood before rising. The room she was guided to was, in a word, palatial, so much so that Kairi was at first taken aback by the apparent luxury. When her mouth opened to decline such treatment however, she saw the kind smile on Hope's face and recognized that, in his own way, the young man was simply trying to accord her the kindness he felt she was warranted. And to reject it out of hand, would be unkind on her own part.

"Thank you," she said instead.

Hope bowed his head. "I hope you find a restful sleep, Kairi. Until tomorrow."

* * *

And took his leave. Once the doors closed behind him, Kairi looked about the room once more. In addition to the bedroom proper, there was the sitting room she currently stood in and what looked to be a bathroom off to the side. Feeling the weariness of the day catch up to her, Kairi let out a long sigh. A nice long bath, a soft bed, in retrospect these things did not seem that luxurious after all. They were just things circumstance had deprived her of after the darkness consumed all the worlds. Now, in this seeming oasis of light, perhaps she could finally rest.

As Hope entered the command center, a larger, gruffer looking man flashed a smile of a greeting.

"Yo. How's the little princess doing?"

"She claims to not be royalty," Hope responded. "Indeed, she seems perturbed when referred to as such, so you might want to watch your language, Snow."

"I'll keep that in mind," Snow Villiers, one of the commanding officers of the Guardian Corps, responded. "So, back to my actual question, how's she doing?"

Hope's lips thinned. "She's, tired. Mentally as well as physically. Whatever happened to bring her to us, it was not pleasant."

Snow snorted. "In case you've forgotten, Hope, nothing's been especially 'pleasant' since the freaking sun went out on us. As it is, we're lucky to still be around for her to find in the first place."

"Lucky, yes," Hope agreed reluctantly. "But she did find us. And if even just half of what's been hinted at is true, Kairi might well hold the key to our continued survival."

Snow grunted. "You talking about how she cut through those cie'th like a knife through butter?"

"And more," Hope said. "The, engineers of her ship seemed to consider its ability to travel long distances through the void as a given."

"No shit? Damn, if we could make ours do that, we could take the fight to Bhunivelze instead of waiting to get jumped whenever the bastard gets worked up, especially if we can get those souped up guns too."

"Hopefully the damage done to Bhunivelze will forestall further attacks in the short term," Hope said. "As for the weapons, it seems their effectiveness was because of Kairi's own power, so replicating it may be decidedly nontrivial."

"No shit? Huh." Snow rubbed his chin. "What is this power, anyway?"

"From what has been said, I can only insinuate that it has something to do with light," Hope responded. "A more detailed explanation will again have to wait until she is rested."

"Fair enough," Snow allowed. "The least we could do is give her a soft bed after she saved our asses like that."

Hope nodded, then regarded the projection of the Ark. "Any signs of infiltration during the skirmish?"

"Fang's out leading the search parties. We haven't found anything yet," Snow grunted, "but the bastards're definitely lurking around somewhere. They've tried to sneak into the Ark every other time Bhunivelze hit us, not likely this time was any different."

"That's not entirely true," Hope pointed out. "This time we were able to fight them off with far greater ease than in the past."

Snow allowed another grunt, though this one with a touch more satisfaction. "Suppose you're right. Still, wouldn't want to let down our guard just cause we thought we got lucky this one time."

"Fair enough," Hope agreed, looking at the display alongside Snow. "Fair enough."

* * *

A soft, warm light shone upon Kairi, drawing the girl out of her peaceful slumber. With a hearty, yawn, she opened her eyes slowly and let them adjust to the brightness. Looking around, it took the girl a few moments to recall where she was.

"Right," Kairi whispered to herself. "This, is the Ark."

A rustling sounded from her bedside. Peeking over, Kairi smiled as she looked at the pair of baskets that served as makeshift beds for Chip and Dale. The two chipmunks were still asleep, in varying postures that could only be termed comedic. While Chip was laid sprawled with his chest rising and falling in time with his breathing, Dale was flat on his stomach with one leg propped up on a bunched up pile of blankets. Careful not to make too much noise and awaken them, Kairi climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom to freshen up. She found a change of clothes ready in the closet, and while it likely did not fit perfectly was good enough for now.

When Kairi emerged once more, the two chipmunks were themselves rousing. Walking over, she gave Chip a scratch on the head.

"Good morning guys," she greeted.

"Morning Kairi," Chip responded. "Get a good night of sleep?"

"Yep. And you two?"

Dale gave a wide yawn. "Slept like a log, I did."

Kairi chuckled. "That's good to hear. C'mon, you need to wash your faces before we go get some breakfast."

"Alright," Chip said, though the way he teetered and tottered the chipmunk was still working on fully engaging his brain.

While the chipmunks got themselves sorted out, Kairi finished dressing. The blouse and skirt that had been laid out for her were simplistically elegant, the latter accented a mild shade of red that complemented her hair quite nicely. Whomever had prepared her wardrobe, sparse as it was now, obviously had good taste. As Kairi put on the matching jacket, she heard something dunking into water.

"Chip? Dale?" she called out. "You too okay?"

"Fine! Just fine!" Chip called out. "I'm awake! I'm awake!"

Kairi allowed another giggle. It certainly sounded like Chip had fallen into the sink on account of his drowsiness, which of course the water immediately cured him of. When the chipmunks came out, there was certainly a slickness to Chip's fur that was absent from Dale's at least.

"Ready to go?" Kairi asked, bending over slightly.

"Roger dodger!" Dale said.

Turning about, Kairi knelt down to let the two chipmunks climb up into the jacket's pockets, what with the absence of a hood. As she opened the door, Kairi was at first taken aback at the sight of a sentry. The woman in question bowed respectfully.

"Lady Kairi, I trust you had a good rest?"

"Umm, yes, I did," Kairi said, instinctively returning the bow.

The guard seemed mildly surprised by the returned courtesy, but smiled after a moment.

"I presume you would like some breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes, that would be nice," Kairi said, smiling back in turn.

"Please, follow me."

As the two began walking, the woman also spoke into something that Kairi presumed to be some sort of radio, notifying others of her status. As such by the time they reached the dining hall, Kairi's entrance was mirrored by that of Hope himself, along with several others.

"Good morning, Lady Kairi," Hope greeted.

Despite herself, Kairi puffed her cheeks out. "I'm not a princess. Or a lady."

To that Hope gave an apologetic smile before exchanging a look with his companions. They in turn nodded, a motion Hope returned in kind before regarding Kairi once more.

"Then, just Kairi," he said.

The pout disappeared from Kairi's face. "Better."

A few chuckles sounded before Hope waved at the table.

"Please."

Picking a seat at random, Kairi was mildly taken aback as a servant emerged and set a place before her, along with some smaller utensils that were presumably for the chipmunks. Next came the food, all this happening in such a whirl that left Kairi almost winded from the efficiency of motion.

"I hope you do not mind a few introductions while you eat?" Hope asked.

"Umm, no, that's fine," Kairi said. "Though, what about all of you?"

More chuckles there.

"We've already eaten," Hope said, "and it is still a tad early for lunch."

"Oh," Kairi said, blushing slightly. "Umm, did I oversleep?"

"Just a little bit," Hope tried to assure her.

Or at least tried to. Kairi was far from convinced, but for the moment comforted herself that she really had been tired after everything that happened and that this would be a one-time thing. Hopefully. Just as Kairi was gathering herself, her stomach growled as if to remind her of the other thing that she had been rather short on. The girl's cheeks flushed, not at all helped by the hearty laugh that sounded.

"Ah, don't worry about it little lady," a gruff but kindhearted man said. "And don't hold back on our account, have your fill. S'least we could do after you saved my boys and girls yesterday."

Kairi tilted her head quizzically. "Your, boys and girls?"

"The name's Snow," the man said with a wide grin. "Snow Villiers. I'm the captain of the Guardian Corps, the ones that fought alongside you against Bhunivelze."

Kairi's eyes widened as the words registered. "Oh! Umm, you are welcome. And, you have my thanks as well. Your, Guardian Corps also saved me when they showed up when they did."

To that Snow actually tilted his head as he regarded Kairi, then glanced over at Hope.

"You weren't kidding," he said to the youth. "She really is humble." Then looked back at Kairi. "Kinda reminds me of _her_, in a way."

Kairi just stared at Snow. "Umm, pardon?"

"Naw, forget about it," Snow said with a wave of his hand. "And shouldn't you start chowing down? Food's best when it's hot after all."

"Oh, right," Kairi said, picking up the fork and took a bite. "Hehe. It's delicious."

"I'm glad you think so," Hope said. "Now, as for those introductions. Snow here has already introduced himself." The youth gestured to the young woman seated to his right. "This is Alyssa Zaidelle, my able right hand."

"A pleasure," Alyssa said.

"Likewise," Kairi responded after swallowing.

"And this lady here," Hope nodded towards a towering tanned woman, "is Oerba Yun Fang, captain of the Guardian Corps' ground contingent." With an added clarification. "Snow there is the captain of the Guardian Corps' air contingent."

"Ain't as good a pilot as Sazh though," Snow added, not that that helped clarify anything for Kairi.

Hope cleared his throat, a subtle nudge to get Snow to stop yapping for a moment and keeping him from confusing Kairi further.

"Just call me Fang. My but aren't you a precious one," the woman in question said with a wide smile. "Hard to imagine it was you blasting away with such abandon yesterday."

Kairi gave a wry smile. "Well, I did have some help."

Following the girl's gaze, Fang regarded the two chipmunks, cheeks stuffed with food. That only caused a merry laugh to ring from her.

"Well I'll be, I've seen stranger things, but this is certainly up there." She directed a warm smile at Kairi. "Still, if it weren't for you, we'd have had a much rougher time of it, so thanks."

"You are very welcome," Kairi said with a slight dip of her head.

"Speaking of firepower," Snow said. "Do you mind telling us just how your guns were so powerful?"

"That's really more a question for Chip and Dale," Kairi said. "They're the ones that designed the gummi ship."

Snow's gaze fell to the chipmunks, back up to Kairi, then back down to Chip and Dale again.

"Okay, gotta admit, I thought Hope was pulling my leg yesterday when he said these two pipsqueaks were the designers."

"Hey, who ya calling pipsqueaks?" Chip squeaked in mild indignation.

"Whoa, mean nothing by it," Snow said. "Just, talking chipmunks? And mechanics to boot? I mean, how do you guys even hold up a wrench, much less work on a ship that big?"

"That's what the mops are for!" Dale responded. "The king enchanted a bunch of them to help with the lifting and hitting."

That saw confused looks crop up all around.

"Mops?" Snow said blankly.

"King?" was Hope's remark.

"Yeah," Chip said, sounding noticeably melancholic.

Indeed Dale too slowed in his intake of food, slumping over slightly.

"Is, something wrong?" Hope asked gently.

Kairi began shaking her head, before stopping and slowly nodding.

"King Mickey," she said. "He was Chip and Dale's sovereign, the one that originally came up with the gummi ship. He, fell trying to hold back the darkness." Kairi's hand tightened over her heart. "Trying to buy time for us to escape."

"Sounds like a hell of a leader," Snow said wholeheartedly. "And a hell of a guy to boot."

Kairi smiled slightly. "He was."

The Ark quartet exchanged looks.

"Our apologies," Hope said for all of them, "if we cause unpleasant memories to arise."

Kairi took a deep breath. "It's okay. It, hurts, but I can't let that stop me. And it's my responsibility, to carry on everything that the others tried to do. To protect people in their place, now that they can't anymore."

Respect, something that Kairi had already earned in spades from those assembled. Sympathy, something that everyone here shared in equal measure. Hope, the name notwithstanding, something that for some strange reason seemed to flicker brighter with Kairi's mere presence. Together, it was as if Kairi were a beacon that the others were compelled to follow. The light that shone from her was just that bright.

Upon the meal's conclusion Kairi parted ways with Chip and Dale, whom were ferried off by Snow to apparently talk more about the gummi ship. Hope and Alyssa likewise headed off to attend to their other duties. That left the young girl with Fang, and despite the kindly nature of the woman Kairi felt somewhat awestruck at how Fang towered over her.

"Heartless," Fang said thoughtfully as she and Kairi walked together. "I'm afraid I've never heard the term before. It's apt though, and I can see why people would call them that. Assuming your Heartless and our Cie'th are the same things."

"I, think they're the same," Kairi said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I was fighting Heartless yesterday. Not sure about the big one though, it felt, different."

Fang nodded. "Bhunivelze is a god, a being that can create more Cie'th. So technically he isn't a Cie'th himself."

"A, god?"

The woman tilted her head. "Do you not have gods where you're from, Kairi?"

Kairi pursed her lips. "Well, we have things we believe in, but I don't think I've ever seen a god. Personally at least."

Fang chuckled. "You're not missing much. Our gods, were kind of jerks."

"Oh, I see," Kairi said. "But, I think there are some good gods out there. Some, friends of mine ran into them once. Even helped them a little."

"That's certainly encouraging," Fang said. "Not sure I like the idea of all gods being bad, so if there are some good ones out there, more power to them."

The two exchanged agreeable smiles at that.

"So you mentioned some special way of fighting the Heartless?" Fang returned the conversation to its original point.

Kairi nodded. "Uh huh. Keyblades. They're weapons forged from the light of one's heart, and they're the strongest thing you can use against Heartless or Nobodies."

"Nobodies?" Fang said quizzically.

"Oh, right," Kairi said. "Umm, you know how I mentioned that Heartless are basically what happens when a person's heart is consumed by darkness. Their heart becomes effectively separated from their bodies. In some cases where a heart was especially strong, the body that's left behind retains some degree of will. Those are the Nobodies."

"Is that so," Fang said thoughtfully. "We really gotta get you to sit down and have a longer chat with Hope. He'd know way more on how all these things fit together."

"To be honest, there's lots of things I don't fully understand either," Kairi said. "But the gummi ship's computer has records on a lot of things."

"Hitting the books ain't exactly my strong suite," Fang said, "but this all sounds mighty important. Especially if these Heartless and Nobodies really are related to the Cie'th. Anything we can learn about them will make us that better prepared next time they attack."

Kairi frowned slightly. "Do they do that often? Attack, I mean."

Fang nodded solemnly. "More than my liking. In fact a couple usually try to sneak onto the Ark when the void ones hit us from the outside. But this time they were beaten back pretty quick thinks to your little gunship rescue," the woman gave Kairi a wink, "and we haven't spotted any stragglers, so we might just have lucked out this time around."

Kairi gave a giggle before adopting a more serious expression. "I'd like to hope so too."

"But anyway, this keyblade you mentioned," Fang continued. "You have one?"

"Uh huh," Kairi said, holding out her hand. "This one's mine."

And in a flash of light summoned the multi-hued floral keyblade.

"Whoa!" Fang almost jumped.

"Oh, sorry, I should have asked before bringing it out," Kairi immediately apologized.

"No, that's okay," Fang assured her even as she began looking over the weapon. "I probably had it coming."

The woman circled Kairi, getting a good view from all angles. Kairi patiently held the keyblade out for Fang's convenience.

"Huh," Fang said after straightening. "It looks like a key alright, even if the teeth look like they're made of flowers." She regarded Kairi. "Are all keyblades this, colorful?"

"It really depends," Kairi said. "Keyblades are manifestations of a person's heart, so they're reflective of the person that wields them."

That elicited a slight chuckle. "Well, can't say it ain't appropriate for you."

To that Kairi could only smile in return.

"Where did you take that weapon out from anyway?" Fang asked. "It just, appeared in your hand."

"Honestly? I have no idea," Kairi admitted. "That was a part of my studies that we didn't get to before, well, everything happened."

"I see," Fang said with a sympathetic smile.

"But there are also lots of records on the keyblade in the gummi ship's systems," Kairi said. "I'd only started digging into them, and I'm sure there's an answer in there."

"So how does one get a keyblade in the first place?" Fang asked next.

Kairi's eyes flickered again as she pondered the question. "There's supposed to be some sort of bequeathing ceremony, where a keyblade master can choose a successor. But, I don't recall ever having actually performed it, so there might be another way as well." The girl sighed. "Sorry, I was really just starting out, so there's a lot of things I don't understand. A lot of things I couldn't help with."

"Hey, that's not on you," Fang comforted her. "We all gotta start somewhere, there's no end to a journey without a beginning. And you're not walking it alone, you've got all of us here on the Ark right there beside you now."

To that Kairi offered a grateful smile. "Yeah, guess I do."

"That's better," Fang said. "If there's more to learn about this keyblade, we'll be right there helping you figuring it out." The woman regarded the keyblade again. "Can I take a look?"

Glancing at the extended hand, Kairi smiled wryly. "It, doesn't quite work that way."

Even so she offered the keyblade to the quizzical looking Fang. The woman took it and gave it a swing, before the blade disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in Kairi's hands.

"I see what you mean," Fang said after a beat. "Something to keep a keyblade from being stolen?"

"Not exactly," Kairi said, dismissing the keyblade. "The keyblade can only be held by its chosen wielder, and that wielder must also possess a strong heart to begin with. Both conditions must be met for you to be able to pick up a keyblade." She hefted hers. "This keyblade is mine, so only I can wield it."

"Handy," Fang said, examining the weapon in Kairi's hand once more. "Though unless we can get more of them, the rest of us'll just have to keep fighting the Cie'th, or Heartless, the old fashioned way."

The spear worn on Fang's back shifted as if to emphasis what that way might be. For a moment Kairi's thoughts wandered to the armory locked away in the gummi ship, and within it all the keyblades that once belonged to Sora. Could those be used by the Ark's defenders? As quickly as the question arose however she dismissed it. Kairi still did not understand the full nuances of how the keyblades worked, what would happen if someone tried to use another's willy-nilly, even if the former wielder was gone. And the last thing she was prepared to risk was outright losing any of those keyblades. Not yet at least, not until she knew for certain there was no other way.

Before Kairi could muster any sort of response however Fang's head jerked aside. Kairi stared at her blankly even as the older woman's expression shifted from surprise to grim determination.

"Sorry Kairi, looks like we'll have to continue our talk later," Fang said after a moment. "Looks like we did end up with a few stowaways after all."

Kairi's eyes widened, then. "Umm, I can help!"

Fang's movements stuttered as she stopped herself mid-step to look back at Kairi. "What?"

Holding out her hand again, Kairi called forth Destiny's Embrace. "I can help!"

Understanding dawned in Fang's eyes, but so did a flicker of hesitation. It did not go unnoticed by Kairi as the girl too took a step forward.

"Please."

Despite her clear hesitation, Fang gave a resigned sigh. "Alright, but stay close to me. I so much as let a scratch happen to you, I'll never hear the end of it."

Kairi gave a tight smile and nod. "I can take care of myself."

Fang chuckled wryly. "Yeah, I just bet you can. C'mon."

The pace the older woman set was not a flat out sprint, but it was certainly brisk. They did not have long to run either, as the two arrived at some sort of terrace that was quickly revealed to be a landing pad. Hopping into the awaiting vehicle, Kairi had just enough time to buckle in before it zipped off and she was made devoutly grateful for the seatbelts. The pilot responsible for ferrying them was certainly prioritizing speed over the comfort of his passangers.

In a far shorter time than she could have believed, the airship slowed and descended to the ground. Despite her shaky knees Kairi did her best to keep pace with Fang as the woman met up with several soldiers in armor and carrying guns.

"Report," Fang said.

"We've made contact with at least a dozen smaller Cie'th," the soldier said, "along with one of the big ones. They're contained, for now, but no telling when they'll try to make a break for it." He then glanced over at Kairi before looking questioningly back at Fang. "Ma'am?"

"She's with me," Fang responded, as if that explained anything. " One squad with me. Rest of you keep the perimeter tight while we go take a look."

"If you're sure ma'am," the soldier said, obviously still worried about the presence of what by all appearances was a girl barely in her teens.

"I'm not, but she seems to be," Fang said, then to Kairi. "C'mon, kiddo."

"Not a kid," Kairi responded, and to the surprise of the gathered soldiers summoned her keyblade.

"No," Fang agreed. "No, don't suppose you are."

The assembled group made their way past the ring of soldiers securing the area and entered into the collection of metallic structures. The dim light barely pierced the darkness within and only seemed to cast even more shadows for things to lurk under. Fang took out a flashlight and swept it before them. Kairi on the other hand held out her keyblade, from which a soft glow began emanating.

"Handy," Fang remarked.

"Yes, it is," Kairi responded reflexively, her own focus on trying to sense anything in the darkness.

The soldiers too had lights mounted on their guns, so it was not as if they were walking in completely blind. Still, there was a palpable tenseness to their movements, as if they were expecting to get jumped any second now. Kairi felt the hair on the back of her neck stiffen.

"Look out!"

The malformed, rocky golem's movements were more a shambling stumble, but the speed with which it moved was still enough to surprise the unwary. Kairi's warning was enough to alert the others, but it was still too late for the soldier set upon by the Cie'th. A panicked scream was cut short as the man was sent slamming into the wall by the massive backhand, the creature already charging on its next intended victim. That victim was Kairi, and the girl made no move to dodge.

"KAIRI!"

The panic in Fang's cry was hardly unwarranted, the older woman not having any idea the extent of Kairi's martial skill. Indeed if Kairi herself was asked, the girl would openly admit to still being a novice. But what little time she had been able to spend training, she had spent most diligently. And even as the sight of the roaring monstrosity bearing down on her caused her heart to quiver, her poise did not falter.

Instinctively, Kairi brought her keyblade up to block. The strength of the enemy's blow reverberated through her arm, but she kept her grip tight. Block, parry, strike. Merlin's words rang in her head as she did her best to execute the sequence. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back and shoved the creature's arm aside.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

With a cry that surprised even herself, Kairi brought the keyblade crashing down across the Cie'th's chest. She felt the slightest resistance as the teeth sank into flesh, but after that the blade seemed to glide through even more easily than if it were cutting through empty air. With a clank, the keyblade sliced completely through the creature's torso, causing the creature's form to dispel into a black mist.

Kairi's breathing was heavy and uneven, the girl hardly used to such exertions and thus not pacing herself very well. That would soon prove unfortunate as the party was quickly reminded that the scouts had encountered not one, but several Cie'th. The growling announced their presence well before they came into sight, which while nerve-wracking was arguably still preferable than being jumped from out of nowhere.

"Contact!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Gunfire erupted as the soldiers reacted. Fang was suddenly upon Kairi, one arm protectively draped across Kairi's shoulder.

"Stay close!" she ordered.

Before Kairi could react a scream sounded and another soldier fell. Fang's lance shot out, spearing the Cie'th in the shoulder and driving it off the man. From below, Kairi took the opening to slash at the creature, again dispelling it with nary any effort.

"Get up!" Kairi said, pulling at the soldier.

"Gah," the man coughed, a splatter of blood staining his lips.

Kairi winced as she caught sight of the crimson wetness spreading over his armor. The Cie'th's blow must have been far stronger than she had presumed. She did not dawdle however, instead recalling another of Merlin's lessons.

"Heal," Kairi said, the words taking on an almost lyrical undertone as a soft light enveloped the soldier.

"Wha?"

To the man's surprise, the pain he felt in his chest was disappearing. That moment was all he got however as more cries focused his attention.

"My thanks," he said, gripping his gun and taking aim at the oncoming Cie'th.

Kairi fell back, or rather was pulled back by Fang.

"It's not over yet!" the woman said.

Several still forms surrounded them, thankfully all Cie'th. How long that would last Kairi had no idea, not that she had any time to ponder such worries. With Fang as the vanguard, Kairi downed another pair of Cie'th that were pinned or otherwise distracted by the older woman. Just as Kairi thought the worst was over however, a terrifying roar deafened the chamber. The crash that followed brought down an entire wall as a massive quadrupedal beast barreled in. Kairi's jaw dropped as she found herself gazing at a horned monster, sharp fangs bared in the gapping maw of its mouth.

"What is THAT!?" she cried.

"A behemoth!" Fang responded. "Kairi! Get back!"

The girl scrambled to obey, and to her great fortune the creature did not immediately go for her. Instead it slammed a giant paw against one of the Cie'th, causing the other creature to crumble into crystalline shards.

"Take it down!" Fang shouted.

Bullets peppered the monster, but all they seemed to do was mildly irritate it. Suddenly Fang leapt into the air, kicking off a wall to gain further momentum, and came plunging down upon the beast. A thunk sounded as her spear pierced the creature's hide, but the blow was a shallow one. It was still enough to cause the behemoth to roar in rage and the monster reared back, trying to knock Fang off. In that moment, Kairi found herself presented with the exposed underbelly of the monster. Again instinct took over and she pointed the keyblade at the creature.

"Fire!"

The blossoming fire slammed into the monster and enveloped its front. The cry of pain this time was more acute and the behemoth slammed back down in an effort to smother the flames. It arguably succeeded, but the momentary distraction was all Fang needed. Pulling her spear free, she brought it down at the base of the creature's neck. A snap sounded as the blade cleaved through flesh and bone. With one last twitch, the behemoth was finally stilled.

The creature dead, Kairi suddenly lost all strength in her legs and the girl tumbled back.

"Kairi?" Fang called out worriedly, leaving her spear impaling the creature as she hurried over to the girl. "You alright?"

"I-I think so," Kairi said in between ragged breaths. "This, well, it was a little intense."

Fang chuckled, giving the girl a quick squeeze. "You did good. Probably saved our lives all over again."

"Umm, that might be overselling things a bit," Kairi tried weakly.

Fang met Kairi's gaze levelly.

"Who was the one that warned us about the Cie'th?"

"Well…"

"And who was the one that brought down the first one that was on us?"

"Umm…"

"And what about that healing magic you used on Jostum there?"

Kairi stopped trying to muster any sounds. Fang nodded, apparently interpreting that as the girl accepting the inevitable.

"And of course there was that fire spell you shot the behemoth with."

Though she might as well not give any wiggle room for backtracking.

By now more footsteps could be heard and soon enough more soldiers appeared.

"Ma'am," one of the newcomers greeted Fang. "Is everyone alright?"

"Looks like," Fang said, then to Kairi. "Can you stand."

Slowly, and a bit wobblily, Kairi rose to her feet again.

"Do another sweep of the area," Fang ordered. "I don't want to miss any Cie'th."

"Roger that ma'am," the soldier said, giving a curt nod before carrying on.

"So," Fang said as she looked back at Kairi, or rather the weapon the girl was still clutching. "It looks like that keyblade of yours does work on Cie'th too."

"I guess so," Kairi said.

She regarded one of the downed Cie'th, one taken out by bullets instead of her blade. It was unlike any Heartless she had seen before, more rocky and crystalline in appearance than the usual black goo and mist. Frowning thoughtfully, Kairi poked one of the broken off chunks with her keyblade. Upon being so touched, it quickly dissipated into a black mist.

"Huh," Fang said as she watched. "Never seen that before."

"Me neither," Kairi said. "These Cie'th, they're kind of like Heartless. But, they don't feel completely the same."

"But your keyblade still works on them," Fang said. "In fact, you cut through them like a knife through butter. Never seen anything like that before."

Kairi held up Destiny's Embrace, noting the flickers of light upon the teeth of the blade.

"The Cie'th are wreathed in darkness," she declared. "That much is clear. Maybe, the keyblade can free them too from that darkness." Kairi looked about. "Maybe, it can free us from _all_ darkness."

To that Fang adopted a pensive look. There was certainly plenty of darkness about them, not just here in the bowels of the Ark, but beyond its hull as well. A darkness so total that it seemed as if all light had been extinguished. But if what Kairi suggested was true, then there might yet be hope. A hope that lay squarely within the young girl's hands.

End of Chapter 2

As I find myself nearing endgame for my ME fic, I find my head ever more filled with thoughts about my other stories. So I got this chapter out just to clear my head a bit.

I have the practice of commissioning artwork to accompany stories I write, and the one I commissioned for this story was actually finished some time ago. It technically constitutes a spoiler, but I consider it a somewhat minor one. If you are so inclined, reconstruct the following web address to check it out:

deviantart dot com slash z98 slash art slash Master-Kairi-792182200

So this might come as a surprise, but I did not actually play KH3 before starting this story. I watched enough of the story videos to get the basic beats however, so it's not like I knew nothing going in. I am making my way through the game now though, and my impressions basically boil down to, the plot's structure weighs very heavily upon its execution. KH3 is obviously an ambitious game, but it does suffer from how much they tried to stuff into it. In the case of the worlds, that meant none of them could be supplied with the degree of depth that, say, an entirely original work from the company could achieve, even ignoring the fact that Disney is the actual IP owner in this case.

I on the other hand will be focusing on fewer worlds, but I'll be going into much more depth as a consequence. If nothing else, Kairi will be spending much more time in each world she drops by, so all of you will similarly have that much more time to experience it with her.

Which worlds will show up would constitute spoilers beyond what I'm prepared to reveal at this point, so about all I can say is be patient and let the story unfold.

The game canon wasn't ever very precise about whether keyblades were singular and changed shape or were individually discrete. Nor was it very consistent, since you could argue it either way using the games as reference points. I have a specific plot reason for wanting the keyblades to be discrete, hence why I went down that route. What that reason is, again, will be revealed in time.

As an aside, the Ultima guides did explain in more detail about the keyblades and whatnot, but seeing as few if any of those were translated, I'm basically just picking and choosing what I want to reuse from canon in order to suit the needs of my story. If you've read any of my previous works, you'll know I tend to do that, but I tend to also be _consistent_ with what I do use, which helps make for a more coherent story.

One other note, Kairi right now still doesn't know all the details about keyblades, so some of the answers she gives are correct to the extent that she knows, but which are not entirely correct in the context of the mechanics I'm using. As she and the others learn more, their misconceptions will be cleared up and they will discover new ways to correctly take advantage of the keyblade's abilities.

What happened to lead to the bad end that is this story's premise will be revealed in bits and pieces over the course of this story. I have no intention of ever writing a prelude, since I really don't have any interest in telling a Sora or Riku story. That disinterest is one of the primary reasons they were explicitly removed, well, killed off really, in the background.


	4. Chapter 3: Of Amber Lights

Chapter 3

Of Amber Lights

"Master Xehanort," Kairi said. "He's the one that caused all the worlds to plunge into darkness."

The assembled men and women around the table listening to Kairi exchanged looks. Some were pensive, others thoughtful. A curious sense of anticipation could be seen on all their faces however as they waited for Kairi to further elucidate.

"Xehanort is, was, a keyblade master," Kairi said. "He had this idea, that the worlds had become imbalanced because the light was too strong, that in order to restore the balance he needed to unleash the darkness. And that's what he did. But Xehanort was wrong. About the darkness, about the balance, about everything. Darkness isn't something that's overwhelmed by light, it's something that exists because of light. That the stronger the light, the greater the hidden darkness. And when he tipped the scales, he unleashed a tidal wave of darkness that overwhelmed everything, including him."

"So, does that mean this Xehanort is, gone?" Hope asked.

Kairi pursed her lips. "I, don't know, to be honest. When I escaped with Chip and Dale, basically everything around us was being engulfed. Those lost to the darkness, I honestly don't know if they were, lost, or were turned into Heartless."

It was a difficult topic for the girl, that the others could clearly see. But Kairi was determined to press on, if only so her new companions would have a proper grasp of the calamity they all faced. So she did her best to answer their questions, even if those answers stirred within her a numb pain.

"Would almost be a shame if the old bastard did kick the bucket," Snow said. "Would have liked to give him a piece of my mind for the fine mess he left behind."

"Snow," Hope chided.

The man gave a grunt but refrained from any further crass remarks.

"If Xehanort was able to unleash the darkness," Hope turned the conversation back to a more relevant matter, "is there a way we could reverse what he's done? Bottle it back up?"

"I don't know," Kairi said with a slow shake of her head. "I'm not even sure what exactly he did. The messages we got from King Mickey and the other guardians was, garbled. We barely made it to the gummi ship before the Kingdom itself was swallowed up, and we had to make a blind jump to escape the collapse."

"I see," Hope said, then smiled gently at Kairi. "I had no idea your escape was so harrowing. My apologies, for making you recall it."

Kairi took a deep breath. "It's alright. If it can help us fix things, if there's something I know that can help us get things back the way they were, it's alright."

Determined as she sounded, it was almost as if Kairi was trying to convince herself of that as well.

"So, I don't know what exactly Xehanort did," Kairi continued, "but I do know what were some of the key pieces of his plan. One was the X-blade." The girl drew the letter on one of the sheets of paper before her. "The primordial blade from which all other keyblades are modeled from. And the second piece is Kingdom Hearts." She drew a heart shape next to the letter. "The heart of all worlds, said to be the source of ultimate power. Both are necessary instruments for carrying out Xehanort's plan. And both will probably be needed to undo whatever it is he did."

"And do you know how we could acquire them" Hope asked.

Kairi grimaced. "The X-blade is supposedly something that can be recreated, when seven hearts of pure light clashes with thirteen hearts of pure darkness. Or at least that's what Xehanort believed. As for Kingdom Hearts, I honestly have no idea. Xehanort, or his other selves, came up with all sorts of weird plans to get at Kingdom Hearts. They were always stopped though, until this latest one, whatever it was."

"Other selves?" Alyssa remarked. "What do you mean by that?"

Kairi puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Oh boy. Okay, this is going to sound all sorts of confusing and weird, but I'll try."

A few chuckles rippled amongst her listeners. Then again, weird had been the order of the day since the light vanished.

"I've talked about how when someone loses their heart to darkness, that heart turns into a Heartless," Kairi continued. "And if that heart was originally a strong one, the body left behind can retain a form and some degree of will, becoming a Nobody. Well, Xehanort had a strong heart, whatever his craziness, and at one point he allowed himself to turn into a Heartless. This also created a Nobody, and the two of them each had their own plot to try to gain access to Kingdom Hearts. Xehanort's Heartless, he called himself Ansem, he tried to do it by consuming the heart of entire worlds and using their combined power to open the doorway to Kingdom Hearts. Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas, he unleashed Heartless upon the worlds and used the hearts they released upon their defeat to build his own Kingdom Hearts."

That was a lot of information to absorb, and from the expressions staring back at her, at least some of her listeners were more than a little lost. Hope of course had no trouble picking out the salient details.

"The former is untenable," Hope said, "even if we were willing to ignore the ethical shortcomings, which I am not. The latter though, I have to wonder. The cie'th, and presumably these Heartless, are going to attack us anyway. Could we perhaps use their defeat as the seeds to resurrect the light?"

Kairi grimaced again. "That, the hearts that are released, they're being freed from the prison of darkness that previously bound them. I don't know if it'd be right to trap them again like that."

"I see," Hope said, then nodded firmly. "I had not considered that angle. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

Kairi gave a slight smile. "Xehanort's methods, I won't argue that they don't get results. But I think it's because of the way that he did things. He took shortcuts, regardless of the consequences, and now we're left to deal with it all."

"Wise words," Fang said approvingly. "Good thing we have a resident princess of light to keep us on the straight and narrow."

The weak smile returned, though at least this time Kairi did not protest the appellation. She might not have been an actual princess, but she was still a princess of light. And with the light that shone within her, she was determined to light the path that would see all of them to salvation.

* * *

"So the ship moves by drawing in particulates in the lanes in-between and expelling them to create propulsive force," Hope said. "And that would be why you do not need to store large quantities of fuel to maneuver."

"Yup yup!" Chip said. "Course that's just the primary engines, we've also got a gravity core for when we need to move around real empty space! It eats up a whole lotta power though."

"How fortunate then that your ship's reactor seemed to enter that burst mode," Hope said.

"Would be kinda nice to know how it did that though," Dale said, scratching his head.

Three sets of eyes glanced in Kairi's direction but the girl gave a helpless shrug. While the chipmunks were fairly certain Kairi had been responsible for boosting the gummi ship's systems, even they could not begin to explain just how that was achieved. Something to do with her status as a Princess of Light, probably, however that worked.

"Our own ships require propellants to maneuver, hence their range is restricted to close proximity of the Ark," Hope continued chatting away with the chipmunks. "We do have gravity cores, but they're all part of the Ark's own propulsion system, so we can't exactly go mounting them on our smaller craft."

"They're hard ta get your hands on," Chip said with a nod. "We only ever got the one or two."

Which made it all the more remarkable that the ship one of those cores powered had been entrusted to an outsider so readily by King Mickey. Then again Sora did have Donald and Goofy minding him during his journey.

"So fuel reserves for your ship are not a problem?"

"Nope, she's topped off and ready to go!"

Which led them to the actual matter of the day as Hope turned to face Kairi.

"I would not ask this of you, but under the circumstances, well…"

Kairi offered a reassuring smile. "It's not a problem. And it doesn't sound too difficult either. Just a short hop to pick up some of the wreckage from the battle, right?"

As had been explained to Kairi, not that she was able to grasp the fullness of said explanation, the Ark relied on what amounted to a miniature sun to keep its systems powered. That sun required matter, any sorts really, to stay on. And while under normal circumstances the Ark held enough reserves to last for thousands of years, its recent exertions trying to escape Bhunivelze had drained those reserves to a troublingly low level. Not enough that they were in imminent danger, but still without any idea when they might next have an opportunity to refuel, it would behoove them all to do so now.

"Our ships won't be able to provide any support while you're actually tethering the debris," Hope continued, "but all you need to do is fly the ship. Leave the actual salvaging to the experts riding along."

"Got it," Kairi said with a nod.

Thanks to the gummi ship's bigger on the inside characteristic, it could actually ferry a significant number of people when needed, as well as carry quite a bit of cargo. Both would be required to successfully tether the broken fragments of Bhunivelze that the Ark intended to use as raw materials.

Within a few short hours preparations for the expedition were completed and the gummi ship gently lifted off with Kairi at the helm. Even though there were many arguably more skilled pilots than the girl herself, the gummi ship's controls were still locked to her and Chip and Dale were not as yet prepared to lift that particular restriction. The precaution made sense, seeing as even if they were ostensibly amongst friends the gummi ship served as their sole lifeline. It was also a precaution that met with the open approval of the Academia leadership when Kairi gingerly brought it up.

"Phew, gotta say, this ride's pretty smooth all things considered," Fang remarked.

"Well, I'm not really doing anything fancy right now," Kairi said, "so the, inertial compensators, they don't have too much to uh, compensate for."

Just because one knew what a thing was did not necessarily translate to knowing how it did what it did. The keyblade itself was an excellent example thereof.

"So long as we don't get smeared across the window," Fang said, flashing a playful smile.

"That shouldn't happen," Kairi said, "hopefully."

Chuckles sounded even as they all kept a watchful eye on the sensors. So long as they continued showing nothing, they were good. It was only when something registered that the gummi ship would need to be put through its places.

"We should be there in another hour or so," Kairi announced as she finished setting the autopilot.

A low whistle sounded from behind the girl.

"Damn, it woulda taken us days to cover the distance in one of our ships, even if we had the fuel," the large man adorned with a fuzzy afro said admiringly.

While the battle against Bhunivelze had taken place only a few short days before, the velocity at which the Ark traveled meant it had covered a significant amount of distance in the intervening time. Its mass also made it difficult to slow down, not to mention the energy expenditure necessary to do so, and there was also the possibility that the rogue god was still pursuing them. These factors only added to the urgency of running this salvage mission as quickly as possible, since the distance between the debris and the Ark would only grow ever greater the more time passed.

"Still no sign of the old monster, Sazh?" Fang inquired.

"Nada," the man answered. "Maybe the bastard's licking his wounds."

"Would be nice for a change," Fang said. "Still, if we've got an hour to while away, mind indulging me a bit, Kairi?"

The girl spun her chair around to face the others.

"Sure, what did you need?"

Fang gave a bemused sigh even as the edge of her lips quirked upwards. "Always ready to jump head-in, I see." Then more seriously. "You said that keyblade of yours can do all sorts of things, from banishing the darkness to unlocking a person's heart. I've seen you do the first one, but what did you mean with the second?"

Kairi tilted her head thoughtfully. "It's, kind of hard to explain, but I'll try. Umm, so, when I say heart, I don't mean the physical heart that beats within me. I guess a better way to describe it would be to call it one's soul? Anyway, a person is composed of two halves. Our body, the physical form that we inhabit, and our heart, the essence of our being. The keyblade lets one touch a heart, your own or another's. You can use it to separate a body and a heart, or to put them back together. Or you could use it to waken a sleeping heart. To be honest, it's very powerful ability, and a dangerous one at that. It's not something to ever do lightly, and it was not something that my training got around to."

Listening somberly to Kairi's explanation, her two copilots exchanged knowing looks.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Sazh said.

Fang gave a nod, then back at Kairi. "You said it had the power to waken sleeping hearts."

Kairi's eyes narrowed. "That's, a very advanced skill. In fact having that power marks you as a keyblade master. And, I'm just a novice."

Fang pursed her lips. "I see."

"Is there, someone you wanted to wake?" Kairi inquired.

Fang smiled slightly. "You could say that. A friend, who sacrificed herself to save us all when we were evacuating on the Ark. We, recovered her, but she's in a form of crystal stasis that we haven't been able to waken her from."

That saw Kairi tilt her head. "Hope mentioned crystal stasis, but he didn't really explain it in detail. What is it exactly?"

"You recall what we told you about l'Cie, no?" Fang responded.

A nod. "People branded by one of your gods, given a focus to fulfill."

"Right," Fang continued. "Those that fail their focus become cie'th, their hearts plunged into despair and darkness and their bodies twisted into crystalline monsters. A l'Cie that completes her focus though, her fate's not much better. She gets turned into a crystal, consigned to an eternity of slumber." The woman flashed a grimace. "Some call it a form of eternal life. Personally, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

The girl's eye widened. "Were you, also in stasis?"

"For a very long time," Fang said. "I got lucky. Some others I know, didn't."

Kairi took a deep breath. "I see. And you were right, your gods really were jerks."

That elicited barks of laughter from the other two.

"Oh girl, you have no idea," Sazh said. "We thought we'd gotten rid of all of them after the Ark launched, but then Bhunivelze had to show his shiny ass and come chasing after us."

Fang snorted. "That's the thing about gods, they always overstay their welcome. Anyway, yeah, I was in stasis myself. Twice actually. But Hope and his gang, well, they can be a very determined bunch. The second time around they managed to thaw me and my girl pal out. But we've got one more still stuck in that crystal prison, and nothing we've tried has worked to wake her. When you said your keyblade could reach a person's heart, well, I thought…"

Kairi silently mulled the issue for several long seconds.

"The keyblade might be able to do it," she finally said, "but I'm still a novice. I wouldn't even know how to try. And if I mess up, it could end up really hurting your friend. Or even, killing her."

"I see," Fang said with a slow, understanding nod. "Well, it was worth a try."

Kairi took a deep breath. "But, the gummi ship's computer has a lot of records. Maybe there's something in there that could tell us more about the power of awakening. Something that'll show us how to do it right."

At hearing that a look of noticeably optimism lit up in Fang and Sazh's eyes. Kairi offered a determined smile.

"I don't know if there is, but if it is in there, I'll find it, I promise," she declared.

* * *

The actual process of tethering the broken off fragment of Bhunivelze entailed someone actually going outside to anchor the tethers. This task was certainly not for the faint of heart, and while Kairi was certainly possessed of a sturdy resolve, the salvage crew accompanying her had absolutely refused to countenance her participating in the void walk. This was not merely a case of them being overprotective of their savior, there was also the very practical point of Kairi lacking any of the necessary training to perform the act. Kairi was at least wise enough to not try to argue that point, instead focusing her attention on watching after the salvage crew as they drifted out of the airlock.

"How's it looking, Sazh?" Fang asked over the radio.

"So far so good," came the response. "Everything's nice and quiet, just the way I like it."

Considering the difficulty of actually trying to fight while performing a void walk, Sazh's sentiment was shared by all involved.

"Now that I'm seeing it up close, we sure this ship can haul something that big back?" Fang inquired as she gazed out the domed window.

"Chip and Dale seemed to think so," Kairi said. "We'd have to take it slow though, to avoid snapping the lines we're using to tether the wing."

The two chipmunks had made a short presentation with a bunch of numbers explaining their calculations, though most of it had gone way over Kairi's head. Hope and his assistant Alyssa seemed convinced however, with the former signing off on the mission. Kairi had understood enough at least to know the estimated distances involved lined up with how far the gummi ship's navigation system indicated they had traveled, so things were going to plan thus far.

"Still no sign of any of those monsters on sensors," Fang said from her station. "Hopefully that means we really are all by our lonesome out here."

"Yeah, well, just don't go jinxing us," Sazh said dryly.

Fang flashed a smile, not that the man could see it. "Who, me?"

Kairi joined in the chuckles that sounded, then glanced back at Fang.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, not like we've got much else to do," Fang said. "What's on your mind?"

"This, god of yours," Kairi said. "Bhunivelze. Can you tell me about him?"

"Hmm, well that's all sorts of complicated," Fang said, "but I'll try. So, what do you want to know?"

"Well, I suppose, is he really a god?" Kairi asked.

"Oh definitely," Fang responded. "An arrogant, intolerant despot of a god, but a god nonetheless."

"What is it that he wants then?" the girl asked next.

"Control," Fang said. "Bhunivelze is a perfectionist, and he wants the world, and all its people, all neat and tidy. Anything that he can't understand, has no place in his world."

At hearing that Kairi felt a chill run down her back.

"At least that's what he used to want," Fang continued, "back when Gran Pulse was still around. But that world's gone now, swallowed up by the chaos. And for all his power, Bhunivelze couldn't stop it." The woman flashed a wry smirk. "Probably because chaos is basically the human heart untamed."

That saw Kairi tilt her head slightly. "The human heart, untamed?"

"Or perhaps the human soul is more apt," Fang said. "In our legends, the bodies we're born in spawned from the blood of Etro, another goddess in our pantheon, and basically the only good one. Our souls however, that which drives the stirring of our hearts, come from chaos. That's why we say chaos is the human heart untamed, raw."

"I, see," Kairi said slowly. "Then, does that mean if the chaos were to be somehow, unleashed from a heart, it does bad things to the world?"

"Got it in one," Fang applauded. "That's exactly right. When the chaos is contained within a heart, it helps us feel life itself. It's why we can laugh and cry, fell joy and sorrow both. But when it spills out for whatever reason, it plays all sorts of merry hell on the world. And that's ultimately what happened to our original home, Gran Pulse. The chaos spilled out, uncontrolled, and not just from people's hearts either, but from the great beyond where it came from in the first place. And when it did, it turned Gran Pulse into a wasteland."

Kairi pursed her lips thoughtfully. "That sounds just like what happens with the Heartless. If enough hearts are consumed by darkness, an entire world can be torn apart."

"Is that right?" Fang said. "Though we seem to be getting a bit off-track, you were asking about Bhunivelze after all."

"Oh, right. Umm, you said Bhunivelze couldn't stop the world from being consumed?"

A nod. "Don't know if the chaos is just that powerful, or if he thought a world tainted by it ain't worth saving. Either way, when the end came, we had to pull ourselves out of the fire. Thank goodness Hope and Academia had been working on the Ark, though I don't think anyone ever dreamed we'd end up using it to travel through the void like this."

"Or be chased by your jerk of a god."

Fang gave a snort of laughter. "That too. And as for why the old bastard's after us, honestly, none of us have a clue. Maybe he has some grand plan that needs us all put down, or maybe he's just plain pissed we all decided to leg it. Either way, we've got to get him off our backs if we're ever gonna be safe. And until you showed up, nothing we'd thrown at him had worked."

"Well, that was more the gummi ship than me," Kairi said modestly.

"Sure, if you say so," Fang said, though the smirk made clear she at least was certain Kairi deserved equal if not greater credit for the feat. The smirk disappeared into a slight frown. "Well, I guess that's not entirely true. There was one other person that did manage to stand up to Bhunivelze."

Kairi noted the way Fang's eyes fluttered. "Is that person, the one that's now in crystal stasis?"

Fang smiled wryly. "Smart girl. That's right, Lightning's the one and only person to have ever stood up to Bhunivelze. And the damn thing is, she might have even won too, that's how strong she's gotten."

The girl tilted her head aside. "So then, Lightning, would that have made her a goddess?"

To that Fang let out a loud bark of laughter and held her sides. "Oh goodness, I can just imagine it! Hahahaha! The Church of Lightning! Has a nice ring to it." The woman flashed a wide smile. "She would have hated it."

Kairi smiled back, getting a general impression of this mysterious Lightning from Fang's description, as well as some hints as to the two's relationship.

"Lightning," Fang continued, "she started out just like everyone else, branded l'Cie due to the capriciousness of one of our former gods. We fought our fates together, and we overthrew those very same gods by turning their power against them. Lightning though, the others say she disappeared just when we should have won. And that she came back, wielding powers beyond anything we could have imagined, to face off against Bhunivelze when he tried to stop the Ark from launching."

The older woman sighed, as if to catch her breath even.

"I wasn't there," she explained further. "I was still in crystal stasis, but I've seen the videos of the fight. Of _her_ fighting. All those familiars and cie'th Bhunivelze sent against us? They _all_ fell to her blade. Then she went and charged Bhunivelze himself. Hell, when the old bastard went plummeting down to Gran Pulse, we thought she mighta knocked him out for good. But, no, he's still out there, trying to chase us down."

"She sounds incredible," Kairi said softly. "Like a real heroine."

"Lightning would never call herself that," Fang said. "She'd just say she was doing what needed doing, but that's just her being overly modest. Me? Gotta agree with you, girl. She was a bona fide heroine." The older woman eyed Kairi speculatively. "I think she would have liked you."

Kairi cocked her head aside. "Really?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah. Lightning might have put on that whole stoic, strict demeanor, but she had a soft spot for earnest kids that were trying their damndest. Just ask Hope."

"Hope?"

"When we first met, he was just a scrawny little kid, scared out of his wits. Now he's probably the biggest shot on the Ark and the one we all take our marching orders from." She sighed. "Light'd be damn proud of him."

"Well, maybe she'll get a chance to tell him that in person," Kairi said with a slight smile.

"That'd be nice," Fang said, returning a wider one.

The radio crackled and Sazh's voice intruded upon the moment.

"Hey ladies, tethers are dug in. Can you fire up the engines and see if they hold under flight?"

"Uh, right," Kairi said, spinning about in her chair and taking hold of the helm. "Starting up, make sure you're all clear of the tethers themselves."

"Ready when you are, little lady."

With great care, Kairi began to gently nudge the gummi ship moving again. She kept an eye on the engine output, making sure no spikes occurred that might wrench free the lines. Slowly, the gummi ship began to move, at a snail's crawl, but it was moving nonetheless while pulling along the giant wing. After several minutes building up velocity, Sazh called in again.

"Everything looks good here. You can let the lines go slack now, and we'll come back in."

"Roger," Kairi responded.

Pulling the severed wing back to the Ark did not require the gummi ship to be actively hauling it along. Within the void of the lanes in-between, there was no air to offer resistance and slow down moving objects, so once something had started it would keep going until another opposing force appeared to stop it. That was now taken advantage of by the salvagers to basically point the wing in the desired direction and let it fly on its own towards the Ark. And without needing to actively pull, they reduced the risk of the tethers coming loose during the journey. Only once they approached their destination would the gummi ship actively maneuver to shift the wing's trajectory to one that matched the Ark. All these considerations, things that Kairi would never have even thought of. As much as Kairi's powers seemed to be boosting the things she used, there was clearly much for her to learn to make the best use of them. Hopefully, there would yet be time for her to do so.

* * *

"I don't know," Snow said with a sigh. "You sure you aren't just grasping at straws here, Fang?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I'd've thought you of all people would leap at the chance to try to unfreeze Lightning, considering she's our only lead on what happened to Serah too."

Fang was not the only other attendant to this meeting, Hope was seated next to Snow while a young woman with orange hair tied in bunches was parked next to Fang. While the four assembled did not constitute the formal leadership of the Ark, they did represent some of the key decisionmakers when it came to the Ark's overall safety.

Snow grimaced. "That ain't it. If there's even a sliver of a chance of getting Lightning back, with or without Serah, I'd take it. And Kairi, she's special. That much's been obvious since she set foot on the Ark. But aren't we kinda going overboard here? I mean, what makes you think she could crack Light's crystal stasis? When we're still not entirely sure, no offense Hope, how we managed to defrost you and Vanille?"

"None taken," Hope said with a wry smile. "And I don't mean to get everyone's hopes up either, but the things we've learned from Kairi, Chip, and Dale so far, there's an entire field of study that we didn't even know existed. From their gummi ship to that keyblade of Kairi's, some of the feats they've shown themselves to be capable of, I'm not prepared to suggest even this would be beyond them."

The grimace did not disappear from Snow's expression, but the man's face softened ever so slightly.

"Alright, I'll grant that much, but-"

Before Snow could finish whatever further reservation he had, the doors to the conference room slammed open and a young man with messy hair and wearing large baggy pants entered.

Hope frowned at the intruder. "Noel? What are you doing here?"

The young man now standing before all of them was not part of the Ark's guardian council, but he was part of the circle of confidants the council could rely upon if there was a problem needing resolution. That suited one Noel Kreiss just fine, as despite his many talents the young man possessed a certain reluctance to shoulder the responsibilities that came with leadership. At the same time, whenever something worked its way into Noel's head, few things could stop him from charging straight ahead.

"We gotta talk," Noel declared, making clear this was one such instance.

"I'm sorry sir," Alyssa said, hot on Noel's heels. "He absolutely insisted on seeing all of you and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"That's alright," Hope assured his assistant. "You can leave us."

The guards accompanying Alyssa spared Noel a single glance before obeying. The look Alyssa shot the youth was more openly annoyed, but she too acquiesced and withdrew, closing the doors behind her.

"So," Hope said, sitting back down. "What is this about?"

Reaching into his bag, Noel pulled out a green polyhedral and set it upon the table.

"An oracle drive?" Hope said. "I thought all known drives were locked inside Academia's vault."

For good reason, too. Oracle drives were, like their name suggested, artifacts that held recordings of prophetic visions experienced by a seeress known as Yeul. The events foretold by these visions always came true, and while such foresight might seem like a boon, it was in truth also a great curse. Such information, if misused, could become the seeds of great calamities. Because of this, all of the surviving oracle drives were kept under lock and key in one of Academia's secure vaults, or so it had been believed.

"This one was dead, so I hung onto it," Noel answered without a hint of regret. "At least, I thought it was dead. Thing started working a few days ago, and you all need to see what it recorded."

The others exchanged looks before giving Noel a nod of assent. They could discuss his withholding of the drive later. Raising his hand, Noel activated the drive. A burst of green light erupted, from which fragmentary images coalesced together. When the projection focused, it showed a young woman whose pink hair was tied into a ponytail and wearing a black, frilly dress.

Gasps sounded around the table as all recognized the girl being shown, or at least the very striking resemblance.

"The hell?" Snow shot up. "Serah!?"

The girl was moving quickly however, the vision having trouble keeping pace with her and making it difficult to get a good, detailed look. Then the image fritzed and sputtered.

"What's going on?" Snow demanded. "Bring it back!"

Noel grit his teeth, apparently having trouble getting the drive to work. After dimming slightly, the green light surged once more and the projection resumed. The woman that appeared to be Serah leapt back, and a familiar looking floral blade suddenly sliced through the air where she was but a moment ago.

"Wha!?"

The redhaired girl that appeared actually lingered in the field of view, more than enough for all present to identify her.

"Kairi?" Fang exclaimed in shock. "What is she doing?"

A blackish smoke suddenly swirled around Kairi, but the girl held out her keyblade and let the eruption of light blast it all away. The scene then shifted, though to when was hard to say. What they saw now was the pink haired girl once more, but from behind. She was on her knees, a dark mist seeping off her form. As she struggled to stand, suddenly a silver spike pierced through her chest and burst out her back. Her form began to collapse before a gust of wind blew away the black smoke she had seemingly crumbled into. Standing in the now vacant space was Kairi, her hands gripping a silver keyblade whose keys glint with a dangerous light. Slowly, Kairi lowered the weapon and began turning around.

The image jumped again, though this time it seemed to be immediately after or very close to the previous sequence. Kairi was looking at something, a visible dullness in her eyes. The same keyblade she had used to seemingly strike down the Serah lookalike was gripped loosely at her side, far from looking ready to be brought to bear. That detail took on a particular significance as suddenly an armored figure, one whose pink hair matched the shade of the girl previously struck down, launched herself at Kairi. As the blade came down, the drive shut down and the image disappeared.

To the still air where the projection previously was, an equally still silence descended. Predictably, Snow was the first one to break it.

"What the hell!?" he demanded. "What did we just see!?"

"Was that, Lightning at the end there?" Hope wondered softly.

"And Serah at the beginning?" Fang said.

All eyes fell upon Noel.

"Well!?" Snow demanded, his patience already worn thin.

"That's all the drive shows," Noel said. "I've tried playing it multiple times, but it's either damaged or the vision itself was incomplete. But what we saw speaks for itself, no? Kairi, that girl that arrived, she's trouble."

Fang's eyes narrowed sharply. "Careful there, Noel. I'm not going to take lightly you badmouthing Kairi just because of some spotty pictures."

"I'm not saying she's at fault here," Noel responded levelly. "But she's going to do something, something that puts her in Lightning's sight. And that something looked like her cutting down Serah."

Snow's fists tightened and he growled. "I don't believe it."

"You saw the-" Noel began.

"I know what I saw!" Snow snapped, fist slamming down. "But we don't got the whole picture. You said it yourself, what we're seeing isn't complete. There's something else going on here. People don't just vanish into smoke when they get stabbed, so how do we even know that was Serah!?"

The young man closed his mouth, knowing Snow had a point there. Indeed, there was only one person that they got a crystal-clear look at, and that was Kairi herself. The rest, supposition. Perhaps firm supposition, but supposition nonetheless.

"People don't disappear like that when struck by Kairi's keyblade," Fang said in a thoughtful tone, "but cie'th do."

The others now looked over at her.

"That's right," Hope said. "She accompanied you to deal with those intruders after her arrival."

Fang nodded. "I watched her slice and dice the cie'th like they were made of nothing. So could what we're seeing, be some sort of cie'th? One that merely looks like Serah?"

The others fell silent at that possibility, even Noel. After all, the young man knew little of Kairi and her abilities, all he had to go on were what he saw in the vision.

"But," the woman seated next to Fang finally spoke up, "have there ever been cie'th that looked so, human?"

All eyes fell upon Oerba Dia Vanille, Fang's dearest companion. When placed together, many would presume Fang to be the one that held the initiative in their relationship. No one actually acquainted with Vanille or Fang would make that mistake however, knowing as they did the steely will that could drive the former.

"There have been cie'th that retained some aspect of their previous appearance," Hope said, "but nowhere to that degree."

Vanille glanced over at Fang. "You mentioned Kairi speaking about the enemies she faced before she found us. Heartless, she called them."

The other woman nodded. "That's right. Beings formed when a person's heart succumbed to darkness, was what she said they were."

"Did she talk about what these Heartless could look like?" Vanille continued her line of thought. "Whether they could look, human?"

"Huh," Fang murmured. "You know, that never came up." She grimaced slightly. "We could try asking her."

Snow grunted. "And if she asks why we suddenly wanna know? Or are we gonna be dancing around the issue with her as well?"

"Snow, no one is suggesting that," Hope began.

"No, but I can see the way this is heading," Snow cut him off, sparing a slight glare in Noel's direction. "Kairi saved our asses when she showed up and blew bits off Bhunivelze. She saved some of our boys when she went down with Fang to clean out the stowaway cie'th. And she might have saved us again when she let us use her ship on the salvage run. We _owe_ her. So if we're gonna be asking her questions like this, we owe her the goddamn truth. All of it."

Of those gathered in the room, Fang was the first to give a firm nod. Vanille's indicated her deference to Fang's judgment on this matter, and Hope also acquiesced after a moment of thought. That left just Noel, whose consent was hardly required, but would still be useful. The young man frowned.

"But what if she really is hiding something?" he persisted. "What if everything she's done is just a front?"

"Oh c'mon!" Snow snapped. "If this is all some elaborate plot to screw us, someone's trying too hard. You're in the trenches down there, Noel. You know how bad things were getting. A few more months of us trying to run from Bhunivelze, we'd have run out of fuel anyway. And without fuel, we've got no light, and without light, it's just a matter of whether we freeze or starve first. But Kairi? She's brought us light, and a whole lot of it. That's not something to be scared of, that's something to be thankful of."

Noel flinched ever so slightly at that last bit. Fear, that was very much what this was all about. Fear of what the recorded vision portended, fear of losing yet more. And fear of never making up for his own role in the many losses they had suffered. Taking a deep breath, Noel let out a resigned and still somewhat apprehensive sigh.

"Fine, we'll try it your way. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Snow chuckled wryly. "As if you'd ever let me."

End of Chapter 3

Starry Night has been more difficult to write than Crown, simply because I'm having more trouble pacing it. I generally know what I want to happen for the first and probably second arc of Crown and how to link it all together, but Night is proving more troublesome. I have a general idea of what I want to happen, but the linking together bit has been far more problematic.

It's rather interesting how easy it has been to make the chaos that appears in the FFXIII sub-series into a pseudo-Heartless thing. The ways I can play around with it are certainly enticing. And it could even be foreshadowing something deeper. Ahem.

I have to remember that not everyone here has played the FFXIII trilogy, which means I really do need to make sure to explain certain things in the story. And even those of us that have, the worldbuilding was, dense enough that there are a lot of details that we might never have gotten to. That being said, if you have questions, feel free to ask in the reviews and I'll answer them as best I can.


	5. Chapter 4: From Shadowed Depths

Chapter 4

From Shadowed Depths

The green light faded as the recording came to an end. Seated before the oracle drive, Kairi blinked a few times as she tried to take in everything she had seen.

"Umm," she began slowly. "Who were those other two people?"

Whatever the others were expecting her to say, that was obviously not it from the expressions that cropped up. Indeed Snow even let out a slight chuckle as the tension he felt bled away.

"The one that showed up first, we think is Serah Farron," Hope answered. "She's, Snow's fiancée, and we'd lost track of her when the Ark launched."

Kairi's face tightened at that, but before she could say anything a hand from Snow came to rest on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," Snow assured her. "You saw how patchy that recording was. We still don't know what's actually going on."

The girl hardly looked convinced, but she gave a nod nonetheless. "And the woman at the end?"

"That was Lightning," Fang took that one. "She's Serah's big sis."

Kairi frowned. "The one, that you mentioned was in crystal stasis?"

Fang nodded. "That's right."

A pensive, thoughtful expression crossed Kairi's face. "So, this is something that's going to happen?"

"We think," Hope emphasized. "But as we've learned in the past, what these oracle drives record can be subject to rather wide interpretation. The specific events we see might happen, but what led up to them, what happens afterwards, it's almost impossible to infer."

Kairi tilted her head slightly. "But you're going to try anyway, right? Because Serah, Lightning, they're both people very important to all of you. And I'll be fighting them."

"Possibly," Hope began.

"We don't know that for sure," Snow cut in. "We _think_ that first girl was Serah, she has the hair for it, but we never get a good look at her face. And the Serah I know wouldn't disappear into a puff of smoke like that."

To that Kairi nodded again, though the look on her face remained speculative.

"That being said," Fang took over, "we have seen other things go poof like that when you hit them with a keyblade. I'm assuming that was another keyblade?"

"It is," Kairi said softly. "It, belonged to someone else."

A reminder there, that the people of the Ark were not the only ones to lose those close to them. This time it was Fang that placed a comforting hand on Kairi's shoulder.

"Well, the one I saw do that was your flowery one," Fang said. "Sliced right through a cie'th, and then made them disappear in a puff of smoke. You remember?"

"Yes," Kairi answered firmly. "It was just after I arrived, and you went down to search for those, stowaways." The girl frowned thoughtfully again. "You think that, girl, was a cie'th?"

"We're not sure what she could be," Hope said. "And there is another candidate. Those, Heartless you've been teaching us about."

To that Kairi's eyes widened. So did her mouth for that matter. It was fairly evident that Hope's suggestion meant something to Kairi, something more than idle speculation.

"Is it possible," Hope continued, "that this woman, is Serah's Heartless?"

Kairi said nothing in response for a few moments, instead taking a deep breath. That was answer enough in its own way, but the girl obviously had more to share, more nuances to cast light upon.

"It's possible," she finally said. "There have been Heartless that were able to, cling to their form. If the person they were created from possessed an especially strong heart, if they have some goal that they can't let go even after losing their heart. They could retain their original form."

The mood noticeably thickened at those words. Snow's expression shifted between a grimace and a glower, while Hope took a deep breath. Kairi sat there patiently, waiting for the others to gather their thoughts and compose further questions. They were not long in coming.

"You said before that when a Heartless is struck down by a keyblade, that the heart it was formed from is released from the darkness," Hope began. "What does this, release, do to the heart?"

"It kind of depends," Kairi said. "Someone whose former vessel, well, Nobody, that's still around, their heart can recombine with it to restore them to being whole again. Hearts whose vessels are gone, they pass on."

"There a way to know if there is a Nobody running around?" Fang asked.

To that Kairi slowly shook her head. "Not really. I'm sorry."

"You got nothing to apologize for," Snow said firmly. "And if Serah's heart really has been trapped by darkness, well, what you gotta do, you're saving her. Nothing less."

Several of the others nodded in agreement at that bit. Kairi managed a weak smile, but she did at least smile.

"So," she began once more. "That recording is of the future."

More statement than question, but Hope nodded nonetheless. "That's right."

"And that person at the end there," the girl continued. "That was Lightning."

The others quickly picked up on Kairi's train of thought, but let her finish it herself.

"That would mean, she wakes up from crystal stasis at some point."

"It does indeed," Fang said. "And don't worry, we're not gonna let anything happen to you on account of that."

Kairi gave the older woman another smile before she continued. "I'll be fine. Besides, if I really do end up fighting Serah's Heartless, I can see why Lightning might not take it well. Serah is still her little sister, whatever else has happened to her." The girl placed a hand over her heart. "If my own family was threatened like that, I would fight too."

A pained silence fell as the others listened to those words. A guilty one too, at how Kairi seemed to harbor no resentment for the harm that might befall her for trying to lend a helping hand. She was kind, that was a given. Perhaps even too kind.

"You're just like her," the youth standing before the drive said.

The others looked over at him.

"What was that?" Fang inquired.

"Serah," Noel said, a bit more loudly. "You're just like her. Always thinking about others. Never giving a damn about yourself." The man's fists tightened. "Never thinking about how that makes the rest of us feel."

The others understood immediately, and none could disagree. The natural kindness that Kairi extended to anyone and everyone, when doing so placed her in actual danger, the sense of guilt at receiving such kindness was a cruelty in and of itself. That Kairi would apologize for causing some pain was made worse by the sincerity of her apology. There was no perhaps about it, she really was too kind.

"Heh, now that you mention it," Snow said, scratching his head. "You're right. If there was anyone that could measure up to Serah, it'd be you, Kairi. Can't think of a better compliment than that." He sighed. "Can't think of a better way to give me sleepless nights either, thinking about all the trouble you'll get yourself into."

"Well, I don't really mean to," Kairi offered weakly.

"Maybe not," Fang said, wrapping an arm around Kairi in an affectionate half-hug. "But sometimes it feels like you forget we're all here too. You don't gotta try and do everything yourself. It's okay to ask for our help, and it's also okay to let us help. Let us stand by your side, okay?"

Kairi nodded. "I know I can't do everything myself. I know I'm not strong enough for that. And I know that together, we're far stronger than I could ever be alone."

"That's my girl," Fang said, giving Kairi an affectionate rub on the head.

"Hehe." Kairi looked over at the others. "And, I think all of you would be stronger too. If you had your friend with you too."

That caused everyone else to stiffen once more as they caught onto Kairi's inference.

"So, can I see her?" the girl asked.

It was certainly true that Kairi did not consider herself alone anymore. It was also true that she knew she needed others' help. But the final truth was that Kairi was not afraid to lend her own help in turn, which was exactly what she was doing now. Even if it meant immeasurable danger to her in the process. But then again, that was also why all present were determined to help her. For if they could not at least lessen some of the danger that Kairi might face, then what good was any help they might ever offer this brave young woman?

* * *

The large chamber Kairi entered felt cold, and not because there was any explicit effort to keep heat out. The chill was more than physical, it felt as if one's very being was being tugged at within these halls.

"Relax," Fang said, placing a comforting hand upon Kairi's shivering shoulder. "It's all in your head. Mostly."

Kairi glanced back at the woman. "Mostly?"

"The mana in the air's being drawn in, and that's what you're feeling," Fang said. "It can't hurt you, just creep you out a bit."

"I see," Kairi said, wishing she sounded a bit more certain.

Fang did not seem to begrudge her lingering doughts, flashing a slight smile. "C'mon now, the faster we get this done, the sooner we can get out under the sun again."

The two resumed walking and approached a third woman waiting for them in the center of the chamber. Once they were before her, she flashed a cheerful smile.

"Hello, Kairi," the pink-haired woman greeted. "I hope Fang has been doing a proper job minding you?"

Vanille and Kairi had been introduced some time ago, though the two never really found the opportunity to just sit down and chat, at least not until after Kairi was shown the oracle drive foretelling her confrontation with Lightning, and possibly Serah. Afterwards, in preparation for being brought to where Lightning lay at rest, Fang and Vanille both had sat Kairi down for a much longer conversation about l'Cie, cie'th, crystal stasis, and all of the assorted details that might come in handy. As such Kairi now knew in fullness what Fang and the others had gone through, how they had been branded by their capricious gods, and ultimately how they managed to successfully escape their fates. It was an inspiring tale in many ways, and offered some hope that more such miracles might yet be possible.

"Oh, she's really the one taking care of me," Kairi said, bowing politely.

Fang gave a snort. "Yeah, like you've needed any handholding at all."

Vanille chuckled, then adopted a more somber demeanor. "Well, best not dawdle. This way."

Seated upon a massive ornate throne was a crystalline figure, that of a graceful, breathtaking woman. A cloak was draped over her to help preserve her modesty, but from the open slits Kairi could make out a golden, amber sheen to the flesh made stone. Taking a deep breath, Kairi made her approach with care. She did not think anything she would do today could possibly harm the crystalline figure, but she did not want to presume anything either. Lightning Farron was extremely respected by the people of the Ark, even revered. And loved.

As Kairi neared, she felt the tingling of her skin build up until it felt as if the air itself was abuzz. The concentration of mana was exceedingly dense around the crystal statue, suggesting it was the one doing the drawing in.

"Why is the statue sucking in mana like this?" she inquired.

Vanille shook her head. "We honestly don't know. No one else in crystal stasis has ever done anything like this. But, before she went into stasis, Lightning had become something greater than a mere human, or a l'Cie. That might be why things are, different, with her stasis."

A goddess in her own right, that was what Fang had called Lightning. Kairi could feel the subtle traces of power sleeping within. It was a vague sensation, unlike the prickly mana. And yet it felt so much wider, as if it was just the surface of a deep, deep ocean, with all the mana sprinkled about mere raindrops that caused tiny ripples to cascade.

Kairi took another step closer, holding out a hand as she tried to sense the heart sleeping within the crystal. For any warmth beyond the cold stillness just beneath the crystal's surface. Recalling what little of her training that she had completed, Kairi leveled her breathing and let the beating of her own heart reverberate within her. The sound overwhelmed all others, blocking out any distractions that might otherwise fill her senses. With each beat, Kairi felt for the echoes that would indicate another heart, another soul. She listened, and listened, and then-

"AH!"

The girl's form was thrown back by some invisible hand, only to be caught by Fang before she could tumble onto the ground.

"You alright?" Fang asked, cradling Kairi in her arms.

Kairi blinked a few times, mentally stunned but otherwise none the worse for wear. She gave herself a shake as she found her footing again.

"I-I think so," Kairi said. "Umm, what happened?"

"Was hoping you could tell us," Fang said incredulously.

"You were thrown back from the statue after reaching out to touch her," Vanille's response was a bit more helpful. "Did something happen?"

Kairi frowned, thinking back to the moment just before she momentarily blanked out. "I think, I think I felt something in there. Someone. And that someone felt me too. Except, she didn't want to be touched. So she, threw me back."

"Why in the world would Lightning do that?" Fang said in befuddlement.

Vanille shook her head slowly. "I have no idea. I hope, I hope it isn't because she doesn't want to awaken. That would be, really sad."

Kairi could not help but agree. To lock oneself away for eternity, even when there were others waiting for you? What could drive Lightning to reject the waking world so vehemently? Did she know something? Like the future recorded in the oracle drive? Or something even more tragic? The crystal statue gazed back at Kairi silently, no answers forthcoming. And none would be until and unless they could wake Lightning up, if she ever let them.

"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Fang said. "We'll have to think of something else to try, but until then we shouldn't push our luck, with either of you."

Kairi gave a nod. "Alright, that's probably a good idea."

Despite being back on her own too feet, Fang still kept a protective hand around Kairi's shoulder. Now she used that hand to start turning Kairi towards the exit. Even as she was so guided, Kairi glanced back one last time at the statue. She had felt it, the loud beat of a strong heart. Too loud, in fact, if that made any sense. Which made her wonder, what exactly she had heard. And what else she could have heard.

* * *

The days that followed Kairi's semi-successful attempt to sense Lightning returned to a familiar pattern. Chip and Dale continued their work advising the Ark's engineers on how to construct their own gummi ships making use of the salvage that had been recovered from the last battle against Bhunivelze while Kairi lent a hand making the runs to gather said salvage. In between these expeditions, she continued her studies of the keyblade, either by digging through the Kingdom ship's archives or undergoing more applied training from Fang.

"You've got good instincts," the older woman had said, "and you held your own when we went to clean out those stowaways. But it's pretty clear you're still new to all this, and I'll be damned if I let the savior of the Ark get in another scrap unprepared."

Kairi had tried to protest that savior bit, which only earned her a dry snort from Fang.

"You came in guns blazing just as Bhunivelze was about to tear the Ark a new one. Then you tagged along to help deal with the Cie'th that snuck on board during the battle. And then you healed one of my men after he was maimed by one of those monsters? You know what else we could call you instead of a savior, Kairi? A hero."

The pout on Kairi's face had given Fang a good laugh, but the woman did not press the point and instead got down to business. And that was how Kairi ended up being drilled in how to use her keyblade as a proper weapon instead of swinging it about instinctively. Merlin's tutelage had only begun covering that aspect of her training, so there was quite a bit for Kairi to learn.

"There are lots of different weapons in the world," Fang lectured, "and each has got its own style and way of holding it. This here keyblade of yours ain't like any sword, it's shaped closer to an axe than anything else. That said, you used it to both cut and stab, so at least we know it's got a pointy end as well as an edge."

True though that may be, Destiny's Embrace certainly did not quite look like some weapon. Instead its floral design made it look like some artfully decorated staff, a whimsically studded one at that.

"Your keyblade does hold a few advantages over a regular axe though," Fang noted. "You have a proper guard for your hands, and the shaft itself is obviously made of the same material as the keys, so you can use it to block as well. That means you can switch up between a couple different styles depending on what you're fighting."

Kairi gave a nod at the pause, indicating she understood Fang's points.

"There is one tricky point about that keyblade of yours," Fang said. "Its weight, or rather the fact that it doesn't seem to weigh anything at all."

The girl gave a wry smile. That was not entirely true, but Fang was certainly on point about how little the keyblade felt like it weighed. They had actually tried to physically weigh the weapon, only to have it just sit there on the scale without moving the needle. Then they tried a hanging scale, and after it settled again the counterbalance sat idle. The final test they did was have Kairi try throwing the keyblade and measuring the force of the impact. To some not inconsiderable surprise, there was indeed some force being registered. An awful lot of it in fact, way more than one would have expected considering the speed at which it was moving and the relative lack of weight. It would be fair to say that the keyblade was driving Academia's researchers bonkers. Fang however did not care about the how or the why, her focus was simply on the consequences of the what.

"Hold your keyblade straight out," Fang instructed, "and keep it that way best you can."

Kairi obeyed, gripping the handle with both hands as she pointed the weapon straight ahead. Fang brought her own spear to bear, then began pushing up on the keyblade with it. Needless to say Kairi's efforts to keep that from happening were proving rather futile, the difference between her strength and Fang's readily on display.

"By all rights I should have a harder time than you here," Fang said, "since both your own strength and the weight of your weapon would be pressing down on mine. Seeing as your muscles have to basically work by their lonesome, it's all the more important we start buffing you up a bit."

Which meant in addition to the weapons training, Kairi's martial tutelage included plenty of conditioning to help increase her endurance and basic raw strength.

"Now, let's get started. One hundred swings, the last one as strong as the last!"

"Got it," Kairi said. "One!"

To Fang's credit, the older woman did not simply watch Kairi's exertions, matching the girl's every swing with a short sword.

"Two!" she called out alongside Kairi.

Fang's preferred weapon might have been a spear, but having a basic proficiency with a range of weapons was important for a warrior. And being more practiced, she was not even breathing hard when the final count sounded. Kairi on the other hand felt as if her arms were made of rubber by that point. Even if the keyblade seemingly weighed nothing, the mere act of moving her arms so many times was still draining. Too bad that was just the warmup, and her real training commenced quickly thereafter.

Fang insisted on an early morning start to the regimen, claiming that getting the blood flowing like that would help keep Kairi energized for the rest of the day. The girl in question was, less convinced of that rationale, but she dutifully went along with it. Still, there was no doubt that her body did feel light and limber by the time noon rolled around and she basically inhaled the lunch presented to her. She was still a growing girl after all.

"Wow, Fang must really be working you hard," Alyssa remarked as she partook in her own meal next to Kairi.

The girl chewed for a moment and swallowed before responding. It was hardly polite to speak when eating after all.

"It's alright," she said. "I did ask for help, after all. I may have a keyblade, but there was still a lot I didn't get a chance to learn."

The older girl nodded. "Well, that's what we're here for. And I gotta say, the more I learn about that weapon of yours, the more I want to unravel all of its secrets. I mean, so far we haven't even been able to figure out what it's made of!"

Kairi gave a wry smile as she recalled a prior discussion where Alyssa and the other Academia researchers had contemplated how exactly to perform what they called a material analysis of the keyblade. The destructive ones were immediately dismissed out of hand, but even after they had run every non-invasive test they could think of they were still no closer to identifying what, if anything, the keyblade was made of. Perhaps one of the problems was because it seemed to absorb any and all light used to try to scan it.

No, that was not true. They did learn one thing about the keyblade. Specifically, it did not actually reflect light in the conventional sense. Light cast upon it was instead absorbed, something they were able to determine when it was shown no matter what angle or shade of any light cast upon the keyblade, it always looked the same. How exactly it did this was a complete and utter mystery. But just because the keyblade absorbed light did not mean it did not emit any. It had to after all, otherwise Destiny's Embrace would have been a black void instead of its colorful floral pattern. The only hypothesis they could surmise was that the keyblade was a light source in and of itself, with the colors that composed the floral pattern visible because the keyblade was emitting light of that frequency. Again, how this was achieved, no one had the slightest idea.

All this did however give Kairi much food for thought, including providing one possible explanation for why keyblades were so effective against Heartless. As creatures of darkness, Heartless would of course be naturally weak to something that could create light. That, the ability to create light, Kairi was certain that understanding it would be crucial to becoming a proper keyblade wielder, and in time a keyblade master. Because, as much as it still pained her to think such thoughts, she could very well be the last one left.

A poke of her cheeks caused Kairi to start.

"Wha-?"

"You were stewing again," Alyssa said, withdrawing her spoon.

Kairi smiled wryly. "I suppose I was. Just, there's lots of things to think about."

"Well, that's true enough," Alyssa conceded. "But you don't have to shoulder all that thinking by yourself. Me and Hope are here to lend a hand."

"I know," Kairi assured her. "I know you two are. And I know that all of you will do everything you can to help me. But, I'm still the only keyblade wielder. And that means, some things, I _have_ to do."

"At least until we figure out how to forge new keyblades," Alyssa pointed out.

That was easier said than done, since as Alyssa previously pointed out they were still trying to understand what the keyblade was made of. Thinking back, Kairi recalled when Riku, still trapped in his Ansem form, had handed her Destiny's Embrace to help defend herself in the World That Never Was. Just where he got the keyblade in the first place was a detail that Kairi never clarified, much to her regret now.

After polishing off her plate, Kairi made her way to where the Kingdom ship was parked. Several engineers were crawling over it, taking notes as Chip and Dale pointed out various features of note. The girl gave them a wave, enthusiastically reciprocated, before heading into the ship itself. With a whimsical smile, she recalled the first time Hope had stepped onboard. He immediately latched onto Chip's explanation about the bigger on the inside bit and engaged the chipmunks in a conversation well beyond Kairi's comprehension, throwing around words like subspace or pocket dimensions. The young man seemed particularly enthused about trying to recreate the space within a space, and Kairi wished him all the luck. Her task lay in another direction however.

Settling into her private quarters aboard the ship, Kairi fired up the console and laid out her notebook. There was so much information in the ship's computers that it was literally impossible for her to examine all of it in detail. Instead she spent her time perusing a select sampling of the records to try to find information of immediate use. Right now that meant information about keyblades and what powers they possessed.

At the most basic level, keyblades channeled the light within one's heart, allowing that light to manifest in a physical way and be used to affect the world around you. In some ways, the limit to what a keyblade could do was tied to the strength of your heart. Masters of ages past had apparently figured out how to use their keyblades to channel magic, bridge great distances, and even reach into the heart of others. Kairi frowned as she contemplated that last one. Such an act seemed so, indelicate. So intrusive. Could there ever be a good reason for reaching into another's heart like that? Especially without permission? The girl made a silent vow to never treat such a power so casually.

Of the more mundane abilities, Kairi already knew how to cast magic using her keyblade. Granted she was still a novice, but practice made perfect and in the afternoons much of her time was spent studying the basics behind spellcasting. Oddly enough, the system of magic that Academia's mages practiced was strikingly similar to what she had been taught while under Merlin's tutelage. For example, fire magic ranged from the simple fire spell, useful to scorch an enemy's pants, to the firaga spell, which could outright incinerate entire squads of opponents. Then there were what Hope had called the deus-class spells, spells that touched upon the divine in their degree of power. Kairi was not at the point of being able to learn those yet, but based on what had happened, she would need to in the near future if they were to survive the darkness.

Kairi's pencil came to a halt as her eyes fell upon the name of the next datafile in the queue. Chasers. Now why did that sound important. Frowning slightly, she clicked it open.

_While the need for such skills has waned with the passage of time, any knowledge thusly lost is still a tragedy all its own. For this reason I set down the means by which the masters of old, of whom I am merely the latest, and perhaps last, would engrave upon metal the light of a heart and thus forge a keyblade._

The frown disappeared and instead Kairi's eyes shot wide open.

_The process of forging a keyblade by no means assures success. First and foremost, the one whom will wield the new keyblade must possess a heart of sufficient fortitude and will. Otherwise, the act of grasping the key could see an ill-prepared wielder suffer from a collapsed heart. And a poorly crafted keyblade risks tearing at a heart by attempting to draw forth light beyond what it can shine._

Kairi shuddered. This was sounding more and more like trying to forge a keyblade themselves was more risk than it was worth. Or might be in normal circumstances. Now, there was a certain desperation driving all of them. She was determined however not to let such determination result in further tragedy.

_For these reasons alone, the bequeathing ceremony is a far safer route by which keyblades may be passed on from master to apprentice. When a keyblade is bequeathed, the act ignites a spark within the apprentice's heart, the light of which will grow in accordance to the strength of that person's heart. The keyblade projected from such a light would thus always be in accordance to the strength of that heart._

But a bequeathing could only be done by a master, as far as Kairi knew. And to be a master was more than about the raw strength of one's heart, one also needed to be able to exercise very subtle control over that power.

Alarms started blaring, interrupting Kairi's mulling. Since their arrival, the gummi ship's communications system had been tied into the Ark's network. That connection was now being exercised as an all systems alert was issued. Bringing up the message, Kairi inhaled sharply. Bhunivelze was back, and with a lot of company.

* * *

"Status," Hope said as he entered the command center.

"Multiple contacts detected about fifteen minutes out," an operator answered. "The big waveform pattern matches that of Bhunivelze, but the number of cie'th we're also detecting is way beyond anything we've seen before."

"Looks like the old bastard brought reinforcements," Snow remarked. "Deploy all defense squadrons."

"Squadrons deploying, aye. What of the gummi ship?"

Snow visibly scowled at that but answered levelly. "Put me through to Kairi."

The image that was projected show Kairi already seated in the gummi ship's cockpit. Fleet of foot, the girl certainly was.

"I'm here, where do you need me?" she asked.

Ever ready to lend a hand, even if the fight was not necessarily hers. Then again, Bhunivelze probably would not be terribly discriminating, especially considering Kairi had clipped his wings the last time they met.

"You're our ace in the hole, Kairi, can't have you charging straight out the gates," Snow said. "Hang tight, once the swarm around Bhunivelze clears up a bit, we'll let you loose."

"Got it, I'll be waiting."

The display flickered and Kairi's face was replaced with the tactical telemetry it was previously displaying.

"I'm not sure I like these numbers," Hope remarked as he examined his own display.

"Me neither," Snow said. "Where's the old bastard even getting all these cie'th from, anyway? Gran Pulse is gone, and the only survivors are on the Ark."

"That we know of," Hope said. "Pulse wasn't the only world, Kairi's mentioned plenty of others that existed before. Even if those worlds were also destroyed, there might still be people out still alive, like us."

"And they were unlucky enough to run into Bhunivelze?"

Hope's lips thinned. "Unlikely, in retrospect. You raise a good point, and something tells me answering it might be a major step in dealing with Bhunivelze once and for all."

"Well, we'll have to survive the day to try to find those answers," Snow said.

"All defensive squadrons deployed and in formation," the operator reported.

"Director," Snow addressed Hope more formally. "Permission to utilize the Ark's defensive batteries."

The Ark had been designed as humanity's final refuge, which naturally meant it mounted defenses both active and passive to keep danger at bay. The scale of these defenses varied, but some of the larger ones had the power to level entire mountains when fired. Such destructive power however came with a corresponding cost in energy, of which the Ark had only a finite amount of. That amount however had seen a considerable boost thanks to the salvage runs Kairi's gummi ship had allowed, and the Ark was running at a far greater capacity than it had since its harried escape from Gran Pulse.

"Permission granted for two shots," Hope responded.

Granted there was still a finite limit to the Ark's energy stores, hence why it was ultimately Hope's call when and how often those defenses could be used.

"Two shots should be more than enough to clear out the riffraff," Snow said, "if we can get them to clump up."

Hope frowned. "That seems, risky."

Hope snorted. "And fighting Bhunivelze in the first place ain't? Don't worry, my boys and girls can take care of themselves." Then to the operators. "Assault squadrons one through four are to sortie. Approach the enemy swarm and strafe, but pull back immediately if the enemy attempts to converge upon them."

The orders were duly passed on and more squadrons of ships departed from the Ark's hangers. At the lead, Sazh gripped the controls of his own fighter.

"Alright boys and girls, watch your six and keep it tight. Remember, strafe and run. I don't want anyone trying to be a hero out there."

A chorus of acknowledgments flowed back, along with a few playful remarks about Sazh's own chronic heroism. The man cracked a wide grin, but his expression hardened as the squadrons closed in on their objective. There was certainly no shortage of targets, but that also meant no shortage of dangers.

Something the Guardian Corps had learned after their first few engagements against Bhunivelze, in the void in-between there was no air to slow them down. That also meant shots fired from their guns would keep traveling in a straight line until it finally hit something. As a consequence, the range of engagement came solely down to targeting and how mobile your intended target was. Once that realization occurred, the radar guided targeting systems on the Ark's ships were hastily upgraded to deal with the extreme ranges that were now possible.

The cie'th on the other hand possessed no such technological tricks and could only rely on their natural senses and acuity. Those natural senses however fell well short of what modern science could produce artificially, at least for this particular need, granting the Ark's defenders a significant advantage. Indeed their ability to engage the cie'th at range and start whittling them down well before the creatures could respond effectively was a major reason for why the Ark was still intact.

That was not to say the cie'th did not have some advantages of their own. Despite their countless numbers, the cie'th somehow moved in perfect synchronicity with one another, allowing them to execute complex flanking maneuvers and launch multi-pronged attacks once they were in range. They also reacted instantaneously to the changing ebb and flow of battle, responding to threats and opportunities with frightening effectiveness. That made it all the more imperative that the guardians hold the cie'th at range and not allow them to close, hence the hit and run tactics they were even now employing.

"Sir, part of the swarm is breaking off," a voice sounded over Sazh's radio.

"I see 'em. Squad 2, peel off and intercept."

"Roger that."

A dozen or so ships veered away from the main formation to give chase. Closer to the Ark, a few of the remaining defense squadrons shifted their positions just in case the enemy still managed to break through. Sazh's own attention turned back to the cie'th he was presently engaging and he watched as the estimated count slowly ticked down. They were bleeding the enemy swarm, but those numbers weren't dropping quickly enough. Not with just the defense squadrons, at least. The radio beeped, sending Sazh a warning of what was about to happen.

"All squadrons, evacuate firing lane."

Off in the distance, the long-range battery mounted upon the Ark's surface lit up. As the energy coalesced, for a brief moment it looked as if a single star was peeking out once more amidst the darkened sky. The brightness bloomed into a tight lance, punching through the void leaving a glowing after-trail. The beam's width might have been a single combat ship, not terribly wide in the grand scheme of things, but certainly gigantic from mere human perspective. It became even more so as the beam struck the first cie'th, and then fractured into countless splinters in a cascading chain reaction. As if each cie'th were a prism, the beams of light that struck them were refracted and split to hit even more of the swarm. The cascade of light looked rather pretty from the distance, like a canopy of ice forming over the branches of a mighty tree. Behind the beauty however marked the destructive power of a sun.

"Count is down to 20% of initial numbers," the report flowed in. "The rest of the swarm's dispersing."

"The way's clear," Sazh radioed back to the Ark. "Send in the cavalry."

Emerging from the Ark, flanked by dozens of other ships, the gummi ship's engines roared.

"This is the Highwind," Kairi said. "Preparing to engage."

End of Chapter 4

Work has been on something of a continuous crunch for the last month or so, which made finding any time to write at all extremely difficult. I'm glad to get this chapter out however, just to move the story along. The chapter itself was a bit easier to write now that I've sorted out just how fast I'm willing to pace things. Previously I thought I would have to spend a lot more time doing worldbuilding, but I just could not come up a way to write the scenes without them bogging down. For now I'll instead try to worldbuild at the same time as I advance the overall plot, so expect Lightning to show up proper next chapter. I'm expecting 8 to 10 chapters per 'world,' so we're technically already halfway through the FF13 world. Right now I have mapped out four worlds, ignoring anything endgame related.

In a lot of ways, Kairi and Serah are very similar. That similarity is allowing me to slot Kairi into a specific role with respect to the rest of the FF13 crew. All of them are seeing her as a sort of surrogate little sister that they feel the need to protect. And all of them are also realizing that Kairi, while she does need protection in some ways, is also the only one capable of protecting them back in other ways. This dynamic is going to play a significant role in how they handle and treat her, much as a different dynamic will play out when Kairi interacts with characters from other "worlds." By the end of this story however, I intend for Kairi to well and truly be recognized as Master Kairi.

I actually outright forgot that the default gummi ship in KH was called the Highwind. Now that I actually remember, I'll be using its proper name hereafter.


	6. Chapter 5: Come Ember Falls

Chapter 5

Come Ember Falls

When the Highwind emerged from the hanger, scattered bits of light still glowed in the distance, residue from the Ark's main battery firing. The gapping hole it had torn in the cie'th swarm was the perfect opening by which Kairi could make a run on Bhunivelze. They already knew the gummi ship's weapons were strong enough to harm the rogue god, they just needed to get a clear enough shot to land a killing blow.

Several squadrons of ships maneuvered to accompany Kairi, providing an escort to protect the Highwind from any cie'th that might stray towards them. And stray towards them they did, as the surviving cie'th coalesced once more and came charging at the Highwind. The enemy obviously recognized how dangerous the gummi ship was, so it was only logical they would focus heavily on neutralizing it. Diverting so much attention onto a single target however did not come without some cost.

The attack squadrons led by Sazh that were previously playing keep away with the cie'th now found their positions reversed as they became the pursuers, chasing after the shifting cie'th formations. For the pilots, it was a welcome change to be the hunter instead of the desperate hunted, and they let loose with abandon.

"Keep it tight folks," Sazh chided the squadrons. "I don't want to be writing any more letters afterwards."

The reproach was enough to rein in some of the more reckless daring, the pilots instead adopting a stance of mere aggression. That was still enough to do their duty however, as they kept the cie'th from clumping back together into a more dangerous swarm. With their ranks in such tatters, the true danger slipped through without serious impediment.

At the controls of the gummi ship, Kairi's grip tightened. The Highwind rumbled as it brushed through the misty remains of the defeated cie'th, the dust clouding her view ever so slightly. Glancing hits from the surviving monsters did a bit more than shake the Highwind, but Kairi kept the ship steady on its course. The numbers on her display steadily dropped, denoting the distance to Bhunivelze. Some basic testing of the Highwind's capabilities had established its effective range, insomuch as how long it took the bolts of light to travel versus the speed at which a target might move to dodge. While they had yet to establish an upper bound on how much energy the Highwind could expend, a bit of time was needed to charge the weapon in between shots, making it important she not waste any. As such Kairi waited until the range counter hit zero, before squeezing the trigger.

The pair of bolts had a clear path towards Bhunivelze, the other ships having diverted the cie'th swarms. The massive form of the god twisted about in an effort to evade, narrowly avoiding one but forced to allow the second to land a glancing hit. Despite there being no air to carry any sound, Kairi felt a primordial roar reverberate through her body. If Bhunivelze is in pain now, it was only going to get worse. Kairi squeezed the trigger again, and again beams of light lashed out. With the closer distance, Bhunivelze had neither time nor room to evade. The wing that had been clipped in their previous encounter broke off entirely now, while a scorching mark smoldered upon the god's chest. Another few hits like that and Bhunivelze might well be downed for good.

"-units fall back, I repeat fall-!"

Kairi's eyes widened as she looked about. The radar on the display suddenly lit up as countless new contacts appeared, all of them headed straight for the Ark.

"Damn it, it's a diversion!" one of the pilots accompanying her cried over the radio. "Bhunivelze lured us out here while he sent more cie'th after the Ark!"

Wrenching the controls around, Kairi spun the Highwind about in a mad dash back towards the Ark. Perhaps because of its wounds, Bhunivelze did not follow, but the cie'th swarming about did. More fire rocked the Highwind and Kairi could see a few blips representing Ark ships drop from the radar.

"Incoming!"

Spinning her ship into a barrel roll, Kairi let loose a burst of light. The cie'th trying to overwhelm them from in front disappeared in a crescendo of destruction, the weaker bolts from the Highwind's cannons still more than enough to take them out. Not all of them however, as more of her escorts fell. Kairi looked about frankly, trying to nip off more attacks as the cie'th circled.

"Forget about us," another voice cut through the radio. "Just get back to the Ark, the Highwind's our ace, and they need you, now!"

Biting her lip, Kairi fought the impulse to hang back and help the others. As much as they needed her, they were also right, the Ark needed her more. Blasting a path through the cie'th, Kairi hit the thrusters and the Highwind zoomed through the void. The Highwind had always been capable of such immense speed, but there was little point in charging ahead of her escorts when they were making their run on Bhunivelze. Now though, she pushed the gummi ship to its limits racing back. Even so, by the time Kairi was in range the fighting had reached the Ark's surface.

Cie'th were making runs on the Ark's outer hull, peppering it with blasts of energy and rocky slugs. The guns mounted on the surface were making a valiant attempt, but they were simply too few. The squadrons that had made it back were similarly outnumbered, and the Highwind would hardly tip the scale in numbers. It did however significantly add to the available firepower.

Going to maximum fire, Kairi cut a swath of destruction through the cie'th, the cloud of creatures seemingly evaporating under her withering barrage. While each bolt of light packed little in terms of power, the sheer density of fire was a quality in and of itself. And even if Kairi could not kill every cie'th in her sights, she was thinning them out enough to give the other defenders some breathing room, some space to maneuver anew. The escorts that she left behind were replaced as more ships fell into formation around her flanks. Their fire was more measured, taking out lingering survivors that through sheer chance survived the Highwind's attention. Slowly but surely, the number of cie'th striking at the Ark dropped, and dropped, until none were visible in the immediate vicinity.

"Are we clear?" Kairi asked anxiously.

A beep sounded, confirming the answer to be negative.

"What is that!?"

As Kairi turned the Highwind about, she was just in time to see a large creature hurtle through the void and slam into the Ark. It was only a fleeting glance, but for some reason Kairi's heart felt a sickening twist at whatever it was she saw.

"It's gotten inside!" a frantic voice sounded. "All Guardians, converge on the point of entry and neutralize that thing before it gets to the shelters!"

The hole the creature had punched through was tiny relative to the total size of the Ark, but as the Highwind drew closer Kairi saw it was big enough to fit the entire gummi ship through. The decision made itself and Kairi weaved the Highwind through the torn structure, passing through the emergency shield that damage control drones were erecting to keep more air from being sucked out. Once inside, she quickly caught sight of the monstrosity in question.

"What in the world?"

The creature flittering about was of pastel shades, with six large wings unfolded over a twisted, blocky body. It looked more like some sort of avant-garde statue than a living being and Kairi could almost imagine the creaking of its flapping wings. That it was dangerous was a given, but the true extent only became evident as it refrained from inflicting wonton destruction upon the Ark's interior. No, it was after something specific.

"It's going after the Crystal Mausoleum!" Kairi warned over the radio.

The Mausoleum, so named because that was where those trapped within crystal stasis were secured while the Academia researchers worked out means of reviving them, was arguably the closest thing to a spiritual location for the increasingly secular community of the Ark. Belief in the existence of gods was not hard to come by when you were being chased by one. Belief in them outright was made all the harder by that same fact.

"Can you stall it!?" Fang's voice sounded. "We're mustering, but it'll take time to get reinforcements there!"

"I'll try," Kairi said, cognizant of the fact that if she missed she could do even worse damage than the monster.

Taking a deep breath, Kairi guided the Highwind's targeting reticule with steady hands. The crash course she got from Chip and Dale about the gummi ship's weapons had been supplemented by the combat pilots of the Ark's defense force. While the reticule was very good about telling her exactly where her shots would land, figuring out where her shots should go was still entirely on the gunner. When Kairi finally squeezed the trigger, she did so with absolute surety of where the beams of light would strike.

The girl was rewarded for her careful attention as a loud, unearthly shriek reverberated through the air. Flapping about in a vain attempt to halt its plummet, the creature succeeded only in spraying ichor from the severed stub of its wing. It slammed into the ground, demolishing the building that served as the only cushion for its landing, but was short enough of the mausoleum to shower that structure only with splatters of dust. That was however still closer than Kairi was willing to risk a follow-on shot to finish it off with the gummi ship's cannons. Instead the girl lowered the ship until she could safely disembark, keyblade at the ready.

As expected, the creature was still alive and thoroughly enraged by being so grievously harmed. It roared again, the sound intense enough to force Kairi to actually brace herself. The girl did not flinch away however, instead preparing to face this enemy just as her newfound mentors had taught her.

"Look for openings, and don't hesitate to strike," Fang's words echoed in Kairi's mind.

The monster was flapping its remaining wings, trying to dig itself out of the rubble. So pinned, it was not in the best position to escape any attacks. Kairi charged forth.

"HEEEEEEEEEYAH!"

Finding steppingstones where she could, Kairi launched herself into the air to land a blow on the main body. Suddenly one of the ones curled up, forming a shield that slapped away her charge. Kairi flayed about mid-air, trying to righten herself so she could land on her feet. The girl was not entirely successful, but the roll she turned into kept her from breaking anything at least. The monster obviously still retained considerable strength despite its injuries, strength that Kairi might not be able to match directly. Of course, the girl still had a few other tricks up her sleeve.

"Fira!"

The intermediate level fire spell was enough to douse the monster in flames, with some even splashing off upon the surrounding wreckage. It definitely seemed to hurt the creature, but that was a double-edged thing seeing as in its rage the monster worked up enough strength to plow out of the ruins that otherwise pinned it down. Kairi skipped backwards, dodging the scattering stone and metal. Even as she did so, she recalled another lesson.

"Don't let up on the offensive, keep hitting the enemy so they don't get a chance to recover."

"Watera!"

At first glance the splash of water did little beyond dousing the embers that still smoldered. Kairi was only getting warmed up however, figuratively speaking.

"Thundara!"

The bolt of lightning that descended found ample and ready reception from the dripping monster. Indeed its scream of pain nearly eclipsed that of the thundering boom. As sparks of electricity arced over the creature's body, they seared flesh to leave blackened blotches. For a moment the creature even stopped moving, its muscles locking up as the current coursed through its body. In that moment Kairi charged forth again, setting out to strike the creature down with her keyblade. It was not meant to be.

"GAAAAAH!"

The girl cried out in pain as a solid blow was landed upon her stomach, sending her flying back. This time Kairi could not even being to control her fall as she tumbled about, grazing the ground and leaving scratches and cuts upon her exposed skin. Even worse, the wind knocked out of her, Kairi struggled to even rise onto a knee as she wheezed.

The creature let out a triumphant roar as it reared back to deliver another blow. The black splotches that marked where fire and lightning had scorched it peeled away to reveal unblemished skin, the creature regenerating all the superficial damage Kairi had inflicted while on foot. Perhaps it had been toying with her the entire time, letting the girl think she had any chance of winning, before luring her into the killing blow.

"Protect!" Kairi managed to gasp enough air to shout.

The spherical barrier surrounded her just in time as the creature's strike landed and Kairi was sent, barrier and all, flying back. The shield held just long enough to further absorb the crash through the mausoleum's wall, but that final effort saw it shatter in its entirety. Kairi was again sent tumbling uncontrollably, her body wracked with pain from just the effort of breathing. Whatever this monster was, it was well and truly out of her league. Not that the creature itself cared as its head poked through the hole.

Kairi wheezed, trying to stand, but her legs refused to obey her. It took all her strength to even lean against her keylade, and if the creature came at her the girl knew she was well and truly dead. Except, it did not. The creature sniffed the air, completely ignoring Kairi, then craned its neck to look around the inside of the mausoleum. It did not take long to find its true quarry however, and a chilling hiss sounded as the thing's eyes settled upon the crystalline figure seated upon the throne.

"Ugh-no!" Kairi cried out, but still her legs refused to move. "Stop!"

The creature ignored her, pushing its way into the chamber and knocking aside the crumbling wall as it did.

"Stop!"

The effort to lunge forward only saw Kairi collapse onto her stomach, the keyblade clanking as it too toppled over. She could not stop the monster from getting to Lightning, and it was clear the cavalry was _not_ going to get here in time. Kairi looked at the keyblade, then at the crystal statue. She shouldn't do it. All of her instincts yelled at her not to do it. But the girl could think of no other way, no other option available to forestall the creature's advance. She reached out, grabbing hold of the keyblade.

"WAKE!"

And a beam of light erupted, shooting past the monster and engulfing the statue. The creature reared back, taken by surprise at the sudden flare of light. Now it did glance back at Kairi, more in irritation and confusion than anything else. It had already lamed the girl, rendered her helpless and defeated. What possible tricks could she still have-

The sound of cracking that echoed through the halls could have come from a myriad of things, the crystal statue shattering, another section of wall being caved in, or the snapping of bone as something struck the prowling monster. Or maybe it was a combination of all the above. The only thing that Kairi's attention was on however was the pink-haired woman in gleaming metal armor that almost glided over the ground, blade in hand and sunk into the monster's neck.

The gargling cry that would have otherwise been a shriek of pain was abruptly cut off as the knightly figure yanked out her blade, summersaulted back, and went right back in for another thrust. This time Kairi could clearly make out the shattering of bone, before a thunderous roar caused her to reflexively clap her hands over her ears. She would have closed her eyes too, but the fading afterimage of the bolt of lightning made pretty clear it was a bit too late to bother.

Unlike with Kairi's earlier attempt, the lightning spell that seared through the monster did more than just annoy it. Indeed flesh was being visibly seared off from bone, as the superheated plasma melted away at the creature's body. Here and there splotches of flesh appeared again as the creature's regeneration tried to kick in and heal all the damage. Lightning, true to her name, was having none of that and sent another surge of power through the creature. The distinct smell of burnt flesh was quickly filling the air, causing Kairi's stomach to churn.

"Kairi!"

Looking back, relief washed over Kairi's face as she caught sight of Fang at the head of a dozen other soldiers. They rushed over without hesitation, and Kairi was quickly scooped up into the older woman's arms.

"You need to help her!" Kairi gasped.

"Hun, I don't think Lightning needs help from _anyone_ right now."

Indeed as Kairi was carried away, she could see over Fang's shoulder the monster that so bedeviled her being rent asunder, literally. Another wing was ripped off the creature, ichor gushing forth from the stump of the severed appendage. Kairi fought back the urge to hurl, instead closing her eyes tight to avoid watching any more of the carnage. Despite the pained screeching, the exhaustion of her body overtook her moments later and she blacked out.

* * *

"So how're they doing?" Snow asked the moment he entered the conference room.

"Kairi is still asleep," Hope answered. "She suffered a few bumps and bruises, but the doctors assure me that she'll make a full recover."

The older man let out a long sigh of relief. "I swear, I musta lost at _least_ a coupla years off my life when I saw Fang coming back carrying Kairi like that."

"Same here," Hope agreed wholeheartedly. "If I had known Bhunivelze was going to sic that monster on us, I would have never let Kairi go it alone like that."

"Hey, imagine how Fang feels, she's the one that asked Kairi to stall it in the first place."

To that Hope nodded.

"So that's our princess, how's our knight doing?"

"She's doing just fine," a firm voice spoke up before Hope could warn Snow.

Through another door stepped in Lightning, changed out of her armor and into an outfit reminiscent of her Guardian Corps uniform.

"Oh uh, hey Light," Snow said with unusual meekness.

Lightning did not bother responding, instead seating herself at the table. "So, anyone going to fill me in on what's happening? And why Ereshkigal of all things was trying to kill me?"

Hope and Snow exchanged looks as the latter also seated himself.

"You know what that monster was, Light?" Hope asked.

"Ereshkigal, a being that Bhunivelze created as a replacement for humanity, because we were no longer up to his standards," Lightning responded with flat nonchalance, "or rather because we became beyond his control. Powerful, but it's nothing compared to Bhunivelze himself, or really any of the fal'Cie we've taken down before."

"How do you know all that, Light?" Hope asked next.

Lightning tilted her head a bit. "Etro, saw a lot of things on the other side of the gate. When I became her knight, she shared what she could without overwhelming my mind."

"Oh, so you are a knight," Snow put in.

At the glare Lightning shot him, the man actually flinched a bit.

"Sorry," he said.

Lightning continued regarding him, the glare fading into just mere staring, before she shook herself.

"Never mind it," she said. "I'm not a knight anymore. I failed Etro, failed to keep the door to the unseen world sealed. I'm honestly a bit surprised you all survived the Armageddon that followed."

"It wasn't easy," Hope said. "And if it weren't for Kairi, we might not have survived for much longer."

Lightning tilted her head again. "Kairi?"

"The girl that was in the mausoleum when you woke," Hope explained, then paused a beat. "Actually, better we start from the beginning."

"That would probably be for the best," Lightning agreed.

Surprisingly bringing Lightning up to speed on what happened after Etro's gate was flung open did not take terribly long, since most of it consisted of just running away from Bhunivelze. It was really only after Kairi appeared that the topics of discussion veered into realms beyond Lightning's awareness.

"Heartless," Lightning murmured. "Nobodies. Keyblades. It all sounds rather fantastical, but then again, she did wake me from the crystal stasis I put myself into. Kairi has some power at her hands, if nothing else. The rest of it, might also be true enough."

"True enough?" Snow inquired.

"Something triggered the rampage of chaos that broke through Etro's gate," Lightning said. "It wasn't Caius this time around, and the darkness that swept forth felt, different, too."

Hope and Snow exchanged looks again. As quickly as Lightning might be grasping everything they told her, the two men were not as fortunate in their understanding of the former's own explanations. But there were still answers that they needed.

"Light," Snow began gingerly. "I uh, was wondering, if you knew what happened to her. To Serah."

Lightning frowned, though that was measurably better than her biting Snow's head off at the mention of her sister. Instead the woman placed a hand over her own heart.

"I, gathered Serah's soul to me when Etro's gate burst, and I sealed both of us with the crystal stasis to protect us. But, I don't feel her anymore, not within me at least."

The alarm was visible on Hope and Snow's expressions, for a myriad of reasons. That Serah might have been so close and yet to still lose her was a terrible enough revelation. That Kairi might somehow be the cause, due to the desperate way she broke through Lightning's stasis, was even more horrible to contemplate. But the subdued manner of Lightning's own reaction was equally troubling, it was as if the woman was entirely detached from her emotions.

"Light," Hope spoke up. "Do you remember, when, Serah's presence disappeared?"

"It was when I woke up," Lightning said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Did that girl, Kairi, do something?"

"If she did, she damn well didn't mean it," Snow immediately leapt to Kairi's defense. "She was fighting for her life, fighting to protect _you_. She risked her own life to try to keep that Ereshkigal thing from getting to you, and if she did wake you up, it was because it was the only thing she had left to try."

Lightning raised a quizzical eyebrow at Snow. "You seem rather protective of this girl."

"Of course I am," Snow responded. "She kinda reminds me of Hope here when he was just a kid."

"Wha?" said former 'kid' blinked in surprise.

"Kairi's been trying her damndest ever since she found us," Snow continued. "She's fought Bhunivelze for us twice now, and it's only thanks to that gummi ship of hers that we aren't looking at freezing and starving anytime soon. We _owe_ her, and yet she still thinks she isn't doing enough. She still keeps trying to push herself to do more. And every time she does that, I'm almost afraid that it'll be the _last_ thing she does, like when she went off to fight Ereshkigal all by herself."

At that Lightning's expression softened, as the woman seemed to reflect on whom else shared this selfless quality Snow was describing.

"Kairi might have done something," Hope said very carefully, "but I don't think Serah's been moved beyond our reach."

Snow blinked, then grimaced as he caught onto what Hope was suggesting. Lightning simply stared at the youth awaiting further explanation.

"We found an oracle drive, Light," Hope began, "that showed a girl that looked a lot like Serah. Except, it was pretty clear she wasn't human, or that she at least possessed powers that were superhuman. The drive also showed her fighting Kairi, and when we showed the recording to Kairi, she suggested that this girl might have been, well, Serah's Heartless."

"Serah's Heartless?" Lightning said. "I'm not sure I get you."

"According to Kairi, hearts that are consumed by darkness are separated from their bodies and become Heartless," Hope elaborated. "Especially strong hearts though can retain their original physical form and look just like they did before they were corrupted. If Serah's, heart, was indeed separated from you when Kairi awakened you from crystal stasis, then the figure we saw from the drive's recording might be Serah's Heartless."

Lightning pursed her lips in thought, but her ruminations were interrupted when Snow cleared his throat.

"There's something else too," he began cautiously. "The drive, it showed Kairi fighting this, Heartless. Beating the Heartless, even."

To that Lightning's eyes narrowed again, a dangerous glint in them.

"It also showed you going after Kairi right after," Snow continued, this time meeting Lightning's gaze without flinching. "Now I know how much you care about Serah, how far you're willing to go to protect her. But you listen to me here, Light. Kairi is _not_ at fault here. She would never hurt anyone if she could help it, and if she really did have to fight, to beat, Serah's Heartless, it'd be cause she's got no other choice. None. And not just that, for all the hurt we'd feel about losing Serah, again, Kairi'd feel it too, if not worse, cause she'd be the one doing the deed. So I'm telling you here, if you so much as hurt a hair on Kairi's head after she's gone through something like that, you'll have to go through me."

"You care about her that much, even though she's a complete stranger?" Lightning said in mild disbelief.

"Stranger nothing," Snow retorted. "Kairi's been with us long enough for me to see just how big a heart she has. As big as Serah's. And if I let anything happen to her, if I let _you_ do anything to her, you really think Serah'd ever forgive me?"

To comparison to her sister caused Lightning's jaw to tighten, but it also gave her something to reflect upon. Would Serah want her to go on some rampage for revenge for her sake? No, her little sister would not. Especially if Kairi was indeed, if not completely blameless, at least the girl was not _to_ blame. That there was the distinction Snow was emphasizing so heavily, and for someone that always seemed to follow his heart over his head, it was a subtlety Lightning would not have normally expected from him.

"Fine then," Lightning finally said. "I won't blame Kairi for what happens to Serah."

Snow let out a heavy sigh of relief, even slumping back in his chair a bit. Apparently that was quite the load off his chest.

"Still, all of you have had a bit of time to get to know her," Lightning continued. "I haven't. If you want me to believe in her as much as all of you obviously do, we should change that."

First Hope and Snow exchanged looks. And then, nods.

* * *

She had not broken anything, for which Kairi was devoutly grateful for. At the same time, the many bruisers over her body made even moving a mildly painful process, so for the time being the girl laid back in the bed trying to lay as still as possible. It might have been somewhat dull, but Kairi was starting to really appreciate these moments of boredom that interspersed the excitement that kept cropping up. Besides, it was not as if nothing happened while she was recovering. A knock sounded on her door.

"Come in," Kairi invited.

The woman that entered was no longer donning armor, though Kairi still recognized her easily enough. Hard not to, when the pink-haired woman had saved her life by tearing to shreds that monster.

"Hello," Kairi greeted.

The woman smiled slightly. "Hello, Kairi. I've been told you're the one responsible for waking me before Ereshkigal could get its claws on me."

Kairi simply nodded.

"Mind if I have a seat?"

"Oh, yes, of course."

"The others have probably already told you a little about me, but since this is the first time we're properly meeting, we can probably just start with some introductions. I'm Claire Farron, but you can call me Lightning."

"Oh umm, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Lightning. I'm Kairi."

"You can drop the Ms bit," Lightning said dryly. "I'm not that old."

Kairi giggled. "That's what Fang said too."

"Is that so?" Lightning said, a slight smile creeping over her face despite herself. It smoothed over quickly however. "Kairi. Do you mind me asking a question?"

"Umm, sure, go ahead."

Lightning regarded the girl. "How did you wake me from crystal stasis?"

At that Kairi tensed slightly as she tried to muster an answer.

"Umm, I'm sorry. I know you maybe didn't want to be waken from stasis, but-"

"I didn't want to be woken up?" Lightning interrupted Kairi.

The younger girl regarded Lightning quizzically before nodding slowly. "I mean, maybe? When I reached out to you before, you pushed back really hard."

"Did I now," Lightning said, as if she was trying to recall the moment in question.

Kairi said nothing, simply waiting for Lightning to gather her thoughts. After another moment the older woman shrugged.

"Well, whether I wanted to be woken up or not, I'm awake now. So, how about we get back to my actual question? How did you do it?"

Kairi pursed her lips. "It's, hard to describe. The Keyblade, oh umm, do you know what a Keyblade is?"

"Hope filled me in on what he at least knows," Lightning assured her.

"Okay, well, I knew I could reach your heart, since I had felt it before when I was, bounced. Back then I was just trying to give you a gentle nudge, just to let you know I was there. This time, it was more like, I was shouting in your ear, to get you to wake up."

"Shouting in my ear?" Lightning said, eyebrow raised.

"Well, as a figure of speech," Kairi said. "I put a bit more, power, into my nudge this time. A lot more power, actually. I didn't know what else to do, whether anything else would get through to you. So I pushed as hard as I could, until you _had_ to react." The girl clutched her hands. "Umm, I'm sorry, if I ended up hurting you any."

To that Lightning's expression actually softened and she stroked Kairi's hair. "It's alright. You probably ended up saving my life when you, yelled me awake. Otherwise, who knows what Ereshkigal might have done. It might have tried to shatter me then and there, or it might have tried to steal me back to Bhunivelze. Neither would have ended pretty."

"I'm glad," Kairi said with a weak smile of her own, "that I could help."

Lightning chuckled. "According to Hope you've been doing a whole lot of that ever since you got here. And as grateful as they, we, are for the help, we'd also appreciate if you didn't get so banged up in the process."

Kairi looked down at her body, then back at Lightning. "I think I'd like that too."

That elicited another chuckle, which Kairi joined with giggles of her own.

"Once you're feeling better, I'd like to have a longer chat with you," Lightning said. "You seem to have some pretty impressive powers, and I'd like to get a firsthand look."

"Sure," Kairi said with a nod, then a smile. "Once I'm feeling better."

* * *

To Kairi's mild surprise, Lightning actually was a rather regular sight for the next few days at the hospital. As far as the girl could tell it was not because the older woman was somehow hurt or in need of medical attention. Instead Lightning seemed to be getting subjected to a wide battery of tests to make sure her time in crystal stasis did not leave her with any lingering side-effects. Lightning, tolerated the attention, but it was clear even to Kairi she did not relish it.

"I know you're itching to get out there and do things, Light," Hope said as he attended one such test, "but considering the way you got woken up, we just want to be sure."

"And how sure do you feel the need to be?" Lightning responded a bit tartly. "Or are you going to keep looking until you do find something?"

"Light, we've already been finding things," Hope stated. "As far as the doctors can tell, your entire body is infused with so much magic, it's like you're a walking fountain of energy. You remember just how hard it was for them to even get enough of a blood sample to properly test?"

Lightning grunted, since the case in question was one reason for her general impatience. When the doctors had attempted to draw blood with the usual syringe, while the needle had managed to penetrate her skin, the hole so created closed up almost immediately and actually pushed the needle back out. After a few failed attempts at getting anything more than a few drops of blood, the suggestion was made to see if Lightning would allow her hand to be cut to try to get more blood to flow. After a bit of back and forth about the appropriateness of asking a patient to allow herself to be so harmed, Lightning had ultimately acquiesced, only for them every cut to be made by the nurses to prove too shallow to again draw useful amounts of blood.

The final thing they ultimately attempted was to have Lightning herself make the cut, on the presumption that whatever was fueling her insanely accelerated healing might also give her the necessary power to overcome it, even if briefly. That hypothesis was ultimately proven true, and the doctors were finally able to get a measurable amount of blood that they could then go run tests on. The entire process to get to that point had however been trying enough to seriously test Lightning's already limited patience. Perhaps the biggest reason for why that patience had not been exhausted outright was Kairi's own presence at many of the tests. For some reason, Lightning seemed just slightly more willing to restrain herself when around the younger girl. While no one was about to openly try to guess why, the doctors and nurses simply accepted their good fortune and chalked up another thing to be grateful to Kairi for.

Kairi herself seemed only mildly aware of the moderating influence she was having on Lightning, with the majority of her own attention on trying to also understand the older woman's condition. While she did not possess any formal medical training, and she was still very much a novice of the magical arts, Kairi did possess greater insight into one matter than all the Ark's professions, that of the heart.

"Umm, your heart is shining really, brightly?"

Of course that greater insight was only relative to those others around her. Relative to the true masters, Kairi was still very much a novice.

"As compared to?" Hope asked, acting as the logical mind to direct Kairi on more empirical lines of thought.

Kairi tilted her head. "It's brighter than when I first tried to reach out to Lightning, when she was in stasis. Or at least, I can see the light more clearly now."

"What about the light of her heart compared to, say, me?"

Kairi looked over at Hope, then back at Lightning, then back at Hope again.

"Her light is kind of outshining everyone else's," she finally said. "If I look straight at you, I can see your hearts, but when I'm looking at Lightning, I can't really make out the light from others' hearts."

Hope scratched his head. "Not sure what to make of that."

"Maybe that's because this power of Kairi's isn't something you can measure," Lightning said dryly. "She says it comes from the heart, from the soul. That makes me think it's as much a question of will and belief as it is anything concrete."

"You may be right," Hope said with a slight sigh. "But understanding this light within all our hearts seems to be the key to ending this eternal night. If we don't even know what can be done with it, we won't know what we should try in the first place."

"What can be done with it?" Lightning said quizzically. "What do you mean by that? Did Kairi not use the light to wake me up?"

"Umm, I kind of was making things up as I went back there," Kairi said sheepishly. "Anything I do with the light, I'm mostly doing it by feel. I let out some of the light within me, and try to imagine what it is I'm trying to do. The light then feels like it takes on some sort of shape, to fit, whatever it is I want done, and then it does it. Sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't work."

"So it works by feel," Lightning murmured. "Is that how you create a keyblade too? Let out some of your heart's light?"

"Umm, I summon the keyblade with my feelings, but I actually know what shape to, shape the light into. So, yes, but there's less making things up."

"You know the shape," Lightning said, extending a hand. "Could I see your keyblade?"

"Well, it doesn't quite work that way," Kairi said even as she summoned her keyblade and presented it to Lightning."

The older woman took it and began looking it over before, as expected, the weapon disappeared and returned to Kairi's hand.

"I see," Lightning said. "As a manifestation of your heart's light, no one but you may wield it. But it is a manifestation of light, so anyone with light in their heart, should be able to-"

A silvery light appeared once more in Lightning's hand, but whatever she intended it to be, the form would not take and the light faded.

"Hmm, I suppose it's not as easy as it looks," Lightning remarked.

"Well, it was worth a try," Hope said. "And if anyone could make what they believe into reality, it'd be you, Light."

The woman snorted. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, it wouldn't be the first miracle you've pulled off," Hope said with a slight smile, which shifted to mild concern as he noted Kairi staring, hard, at Lightning's empty hand. "Kairi? Is something wrong?"

Kairi blinked, stirred from her surprise. "Umm, Lightning, what sort of shape were you imagining?"

"Shape?" Lightning tilted her head. "I guess a key, like yours?"

"Like mine, like a flower?" Kairi asked.

"Well, no, not a flower," Lightning answered. "Just a normal key."

Kairi pursed her lips in thought. The others waited patiently for the girl to collect her thoughts before trying to pepper her with questions. That could wait until they heard whatever revelation Kairi had just had.

"Right before Bhunivelze attacked, I ran across some records that talked about how keyblades were forged," Kairi said, "which included a bunch of warnings about how tricky it was to do right. That led me to another set of records that talked about the, newer, way that keyblades were passed onto new wielders, something called the bequeathing ceremony."

"A means of passing on keyblades, you say," Hope said with keen interest.

"It's something that only keyblade masters are supposed to be able to do," Kairi emphasized, to stave off Hope's enthusiasm, "and I'm definitely _not_ a master." The girl's lips thinned. "But, I was sorta able to perform the act of awakening, so I might also be able to sorta perform bequeathing."

Sort of did not exactly imply a high degree of confidence, but Kairi had already sort of pulled off more than one miracle. Maybe she had another one inside of her.

"Do you know how to perform the bequeathing ceremony?" Lightning asked.

Kairi nodded. "Part of it is just you touching the keyblade. The other, there's a little speech. I'm not sure if the speech does anything, but I don't know that it doesn't either, so if we want to be safe I should probably say the words."

"Alright," Lightning said. "Then let's do it proper."

All eyes were on Kairi now and the girl took a deep breath. She turned the keyblade around, presenting the handle to the older woman while still holding onto the weapon itself so it would not just disappear. Then, reciting from her recollection of the ceremony's description, she began.

"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend-no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."

Nothing seemed to happen, nothing any of them could see at least. Lightning withdrew her hand, flexing her fingers as if to grip something. Again, a dim light began to gather upon her palm, and then, an eruption of light.

"Ah!"

Kairi's eyes snapped shut reflexively and her hands rose to further shield herself from the light. When she opened her eyes once more, a silver blade rested in Lightning's hand. It was a curved, graceful blade, but unlike with the colorful floral pattern of Kairi's this one was undoubtedly a weapon meant to slice and stab. Little surprise there, as Lightning was far more a warrior than the younger girl. But she too was possessed of an immense light, and maybe, just maybe, she too would help carry forth the torch to turn back the unending darkness.

End of Chapter 5

Kairi is trying, but she's still far from reaching the level that even the FF characters she's with are at, much less the level of power a true keyblade master possesses. And her little stunt there waking up Lightning is going to have consequences.

I'm actually having a lot more trouble with this story than I expected. A lot of it is I think due to the somewhat shallow presentation of the KH mythos. We're told there's a complex environment involving light, darkness, and the like, but more often than not in the game things happen just because Sora believes hard enough for it to happen. Those of you that have read my other works may recognize that I have a general pattern to my writing, wherein my characters have objectives that they work towards and there are concrete things they need to do to achieve them. And in my stories, the road to getting to those objectives is very often the main draw to read what I write, since I can make that journey interesting. With KH, it's been much, much harder to build that journey, because I have so much fewer hooks to build upon since the canon gives us so little in terms of measurable objectives compared to say the likes of Mass Effect or Code Geass or even Evangelion. I'm having to more or less work much harder to build up the world outright before I can even get to the hinting at objectives bit, and the first few chapters are very rough, at least in my opinion, because I still haven't been able to find my stride with that additional world building. My hope is with the upcoming arc with Lumina, I'll be able to finally get a handle on it. I know for certain that for the arcs following the FF13 world, I'm going to need to dive more deeply and do more research of the mythos of the other Square Enix worlds I'll be using.

I've also been contemplating which other Square Enix worlds to use in general. I'm imposing a restriction that I will only use worlds from games Square Enix publishes, and which thematically meshes with the rest of the fantasy-style games of the FF series. The goal here isn't to do everything and the kitchen sink in some misguided bid to stuff as much fanservice as possible in, the goal is to weave a tight narrative that makes overall sense in the story. Some of the games are ones that I've never personally played, but hey, the Steam sale is going on right now, so a good excuse to splurge a bit and add a few more games to my backlog.


End file.
